u\  \  ^.l  a^#  V 


» > > >  <  ^  > >  >  5 ii  i  I  i^*  i  i  >^ 


PRINCETON,  N.  J.  ^^{)/, 


Library  of  Dr.  A.  A.  Hod^e.      Presented. 


Division, 
Section,.,. 
Ntt7nber 


^^n-^ 


*»% 


MEMOIRS 


REY.  IICHOLAS  MURRAY,  D.D. 

(KIRWAN.) 


SAMUEL  IRENiEUS  PRIME, 


AUTHOR  OF 


'TRAVELS  IN  EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST,"  "THE  POWER  OF  PRAYER,' 

"THE  OLD  AVIHTE  MEETING-HOUSE,"  "LETTERS  FROM 

SWITZERLAND,"  &c.,  &c 


NEW    YORK: 

HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  PUBLISHERS, 

FBANKLIN    BQUABE. 

186  2. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  sixty-two,  by 

HARPER  &  BROTHERS, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Southern  District  of 
New  York. 


TO  KIRWAN'S  FRIEND 

AND  JUNE, 

THE  REV.  WILLIAM  BIEL  SPRAGUE,  D.D„, 

THIS  VOLUME 

Ks  ^ffectfonjitelj  JJnscrfficU. 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE. 


The  author  of  this  volume  thinks  it  proper  to  state 
that  with  him  its  preparation  has  been  solely  a  labor 
of  love,  performed  at  the  solicitation  of  the  surviving 
family  of  his  lamented  friend,  to  whom  all  the  avails 
of  the  work  exclusively  belong. 

The  rich  materials  furnished  in  the  manuscripts  of 
Dr.  Murray,  and  in  the  reminiscences  by  his  friends, 
have  made  a  memorial  of  rare  interest  and  value,  to 
which  the  biographer  could  add  little  or  nothing.  The 
strange  and  romantic  incidents  in  the  childhood  and 
youth  of  the  subject  of  these  memoirs,  his  early  and 
wonderful  rescue  from  the  wiles  of  a  false  religion,  his 
rapid  mental  and  moral  development,  his  brilliant  ca- 
reer and  well-earned  fame,  and,  above  all,  his  vast  use- 
fulness as  a  pastor,  preacher,  and  author,  make  him  an 
illustrious  example  worthy  of  record  for  the  encour- 
agement of  the  young,  the  edification  of  the  Church, 
and  the  praise  of  Divine  Grace. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 
Birth,  Parentage,  and  Early  Associations. — Hardships  of  his  Child- 
hood and  Youth. — Comes  to  this  Country. — Enters  the  Harpers' 
Printing  Establishment.  —  Religious  Awakening.  —  What  he  saw 
of  Poi)ery  when  a  Boy.  —  How  he  was  disgusted  with  the  Sys- 
tem  Page  13 

CHAPTER  II. 
Hears  Rev.  Dr.  Mason.  —  Conversion. — Joins  the  Brick  Presby- 
terian Church. —  His  first  Prayer  in  Public. —  Letter  from  Rev. 
Mr.  Steele. — Meets  Rev.  Dr.  Proudfit. — Letter  from  him. — En- 
couraged to  study  for  the  Ministry. — Goes  to  Amherst  Academy. — 
Writes  to  Rev.  Dr.  Griffin. — Letter  from  him 32 

CHAPTER  IIL 

He  enters  Williams  College,  IMass. — Letter  to  Rev.  Dr.  Proudfit. — 
His  Answer. — Rapid  mental  Progress. — College  Exercises. — Writ- 
ing for  the  Newspapers. — Oration  on  July  4th. — Dr.  Griffin  predicts 
that  he  will  be  a  distinguished  Man. — Letter  from  Professor  Albert 
Hopkins. — Letter  from  Chester  Dewej',  LL.D 55 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Out  of  College  and  at  Work. — Becomes  an  Agent  of  the  American 
Tract  Society. — Travels  in  Washington  County,  N.  Y. — The  Men 
he  met. — His  Diaiy. — Fruits  of  his  Labors T-t 

CHAPTER  V. 
Diary  in  Princeton  Theological  Seminary. — Foimation  of  Character. 
— Ambition. — Goes  to  Philadelphia. — An  Agent  again. — Travels. 
— Self-discipline. — Labors  in  the  City. — Called  to  Account  by  his 
Presbytery.  —  Remarkable  Letter  in  Self-defense.  —  Letter  from 
Rev.  Dr.  Aydelotte. — Letter  from  Rev.  Joshua  N.  Danforth,  D.D. 
— Private  Letters 81 

A2 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Sketches  of  the  Professors  Archibald  Alexander,  D.D.,  and  Sam- 
uel Miller,  D.D. — Their  Influence  on  ilr.  Murray's  future  Char- 
acter. —  His  grateful  Recollections  of  their  Instruction  and  Exam 
pie Page  110 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Licensed  to  Preach  the  Gospel. — Labors  as  a  Domestic  Missionary. 
— Conflicting  Calls. — Offers  of  Secretaryships. — Passages  from  his 
Diar}-. — Recollections  of  his  Youth. — His  first  Sermon. — Sketch  of 
Ashbel  Green,  D.D. — Goes  to  Wilkesbarre. — His  Call. — Remark- 
able Reply 122 

CHAPTER  VHI. 

Ordained,  and  Installed  over  the  Churches  of  Wilkesbarre  and  Kings- 
ton.— His  Description  of  Wyoming  Valley,  in  which  he  resides. — 
Incidents  of  Pastoral  Life. — The  Hay-mow. — Mr.  Murray's  Mar- 
riage.— Sketch  of  Rev.  Mr.  Rhees,  the  Father  of  Mrs.  Murray. — 
Too  late  for  the  Wedding 142 

CHAPTER  IX. 

The  Valley  of  Wyoming.— The  Freshets.— The  Drift-wood.— A 
Type  of  Society. — A  Classmate  and  two  more. — Other  Characters 
drawn 158 

CHAPTER  X. 

Zeal  and  Self-denial. — The  People. — Their  want  of  Punctuality. — 
Free-thinkers  and  Infidels.  —  Characteristic  Letter  from  one  of 
them. — A  Protracted  Meeting. — A  Lawyer  enraged. — Beasts  at 
Ephesus.  —  Is  invited  to  go  West. — Declines. — Builds  a  new 
Church 167 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Called  to  Elizabcthtown,  N.  J. —  Advice  of  Friends. —  Letter  from 
Rev.  John  M'Dowell,  D.D. — Letter  from  a  venerable  Elder. — He 
accepts  the  Call. —  His  Installation.  —  A  new  Era. —  Habits  of 
Study. — History  of  Elizabcthtown. — Pastors  of  the  First  Church. 
— Reminiscences ISO 


CONTENTS.  XI 

CHAPTER  XII, 

The  Field  before  him. — His  private  Devotion. — His  Wit  and  Piety. 
— Systematic  Study  of  the  Bible. — Preparation  for  the  Pulpit. — 
Pastoral  Labors. — Knows  every  one. — A  friend  to  all. — His  Rec- 
ord. —  His  first  Sermon  as  Pastor. — The  Half-witted  Hearer. — 
A  Sorrowful  Sermon. — The  first  Revival. — Incident  in  a  Farm- 
house  Page  226 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
The  Faithful  Pastor.— Testimony  by  the  Rev.  David  Magie,  D.D., 
Pastor  of  the  Second  Church. — The  Number  and  Nature  of  Dr. 
Murray's  Labors. — Visits  to  the  Sick  and  Afflicted. — Public  Use- 
fulness.— Untiring  Industry  and  Energy 246 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
In  the  Presbytery. — The  Synod. — The  General  Assembly. — Sketch 
of  Dr.  Murray  in  Ecclesiastical  Life,  by  Rev.  S.  S.  Sheddan,  of 
Rahway,  N.  J,,  a  co-Presbyter,  in  a  Letter  to  the  Author 255 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Dr.  Murray  as  an  Author. — Early  Efforts. — At  WilkesbaiTC. — Origin 

of  the  Kirwan  Letters. — Sketch  of  Bishop  Hughes. — Systematic 

Preparation  for  the  Discussion. — Effect  of  it. — Popularity  of  the 

Letters. — Calls  for  more. — Other  Series. — Oral  Discussion 2G3 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
Dr.  Murray  as    a  Preacher.  —  Habit  of  Sermonizing.  —  Sj'stem  in 
Study. — Style  of  Speaking. — Contrast  between  his  Sermons  and 
Published  Letters. — Calls  to  various  Fields  of  Usefulness 31-4 

CHAPTER  XVir. 
First  Visit  to  Europe. — In  London. — Meeting  of  Bible  Society. — 
Distinguished  Men.  —  Tract  Society. — Rev.  Dr.  Hamilton. — Dr. 
Cunningham. — France,  Italy,  and  Switzerland. — Returns  to  Ire- 
land and  Scotland. — Visits  his  Birthplace. — Reflections. — Second 
Visit  to  Europe. — Letter  from  George  H.  Stuart,  Esq 318 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 
Sorrows. — Joys. — His  Family.  —  The  Sickness  and  Death  of  six 
Children.  —  Letters  from  Drs.  A.  Alexander,  Miller,  and  J.  W. 
Alexander. — Effects  of  these  Afllictions 342 


xii  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

A  new  Baptism. — Words  of  Cheer. — Extracts  from  his  Journal. — 
Exposure  to  Cold. —  Paroxysms  of  Pain. — Faints  and  revives. — 
Farewell  to  Friends.  —  Dying  Prayer  and  Benediction.  —  Fu- 
neral   Page  3G1 

CHAPTER  XX. 
Outline  of  Character. — Usefulness. — Activity. —  Lectures, — A  Citi- 
zen.— A  Pastor. — Social  Qualities. — Anecdotes. — Liberal  Feelings. 
—Sketch  by  his  friend,  Dr.  Sprague 379 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

Letter  from  Rev.  Dr.  Edgar.  — Rev.  Prof.  Gibson. — Mrs.  Dimcan. — 
Mrs.  Jones. — Rev.  Mr.  Reinhart. — Rev.  Dr.  Chickcring. — Rev. 
Dr.  Childs. — Rev.  Dr.  Jaueway.— Rev.  Dr.  Schcnck 397 


MEMOIRS 

OF   THE 

REV.  DR.  MURRAY. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Birth,  Parentage,  and  Early  Associations. — Hardships  of  his  Child- 
hood and  Youth. — Comes  to  this  Country. — Enters  the  Harpers' 
Printing  Establishment. — Religious  Awakening. — \Vliat  he  saw  of 
Popery  when  a  Boy. — How  he  was  disgusted  with  the  System. 

Coming  to  America.  The  future. 

The  ship  Martha,  from  Dublin,  about  fortj-five 
years  ago,  brought  a  crowd  of  Irish  eraigrants  to  our 
shores.  Among  them  was  a  lad  seventeen  years  old, 
who  had  come  alone  to  seek  his  fortune  in  the  west- 
ern world.  In  the  month  of  July,  1818,  he  set  his 
foot  in  the  streets  of  New  York,  with  little  money  in 
his  pocket,  and  no  place  to  call  his  home.  It  would 
have  been  presumption  to  predict  that  this  friendless, 
wandering  Eoman  Catholic  boy  would  become  a  dis- 
tinguished Protestant  divine,  a  champion  of  the  faith, 
and  win  a  name  to  go  back  on  the  wings  of  fame  to 
the  green  isle  he  had  left. 

Such  a  lad  was  Nicholas  Murray ;  such  was  his  in- 
troduction to  this  country,  and  such  was  his  future  ca- 
reer. 


14  BIRTH,  PARENTAGE,  ETC. 

IIU  parents.  (Jlerk  in  a  store. 

He  was  born  in  Ballynaskea,  in  the  County  of  West- 
meath,  Ireland,  December  25, 1802.  He  was  the  son 
of  Nicholas  and  Judith  Mangum  Murray,  both  of  them 
being  Irish  Roman  Catholics,  though  their  Christian 
names  are  indicative  of  a  different  parentage.  His 
father  was  a  farmer  of  some  property,  and  exerted 
considerable  influence  in  the  civil  affairs  of  the  neigh- 
borhood in  which  he  lived.  He  died  when  his  son 
Nicholas  was  only  three  years  old. 

The  son  remained  at  home  under  the  care  of  his 
mother  till  he  was  about  nine  years  old,  when  he 
went  to  live  with  an  aunt,  the  sister  of  his  mother, 
some  ten  or  twelve  miles  distant,  where  he  went  to 
school  till  he  reached  the  age  of  twelve.  Now  he  was 
old  enough  to  begin  to  earn  something,  and  he  was 
apprenticed  as  a  merchant's  clerk  in  a  store  in  Gran- 
nard,  near  Edge  worth  town,  where  he  remained  three 
years.  These  were  eventful  years  in  his  mental  and 
moral  history,  as  we  shall  see  when  he  comes  to  speak 
of  the  first  influences  that  the  practices  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  made  upon  his  mind. 

He  was  sadly  and  badly  used  by  his  employer,  but 
he  bore  it  as  well  as  he  could  for  three  long  dreadful 
years,  and  then  fled  from  the  oppression  to  his  moth- 
er's house.  But  his  mother  disapproved  of  this  step, 
and  entreated  him  to  return  to  the  service  from  which 
he  had  escaped.  He  steadily  refused,  and  chose  to 
embark  on  the  wide  world,  and  seek  his  fortune  be- 
yond the  seas,  in  the  land  of  the  West.  He  told  his 
brother  that  he  would  rclinqui.sh  all  right  to  any  prop- 
erty that  might  hereafter  be  his  from  the  estate  of  his 


BIRTH,  PARENTAGE,  ETC.  15 


A  mother'g  curse. Finda  the  Ilurpere. 

father  if  lie  would  give  him  ready  money  enouo-h  to 
take  him  to  America.  His  brother  gave  him  the  nec- 
essary aid,  and  he  left  his  native  land. 

His  mother  was  a  woman  of  strong  feelings,  and 
bitterly  opposed  to  his  going  away.  She  was  griev- 
ously offended  with  him  for  leaving  the  store,  and 
even  more  for  going  abroad,  and  in  the  spirit  of  her 
Church  had  him  cursed  from  the  altar,  A  few  years 
afterward,  when  she  heard  that  he  had  become  a 
Protestant,  she  had  masses  said  for  the  repose  of  his 
soul,  and  regarded  him  as  dead.  She  died  without,  so 
far  as  he  ever  knew,  breathing  a  word  of  forgiveness 
or  regard  for  the  boy  who  lived  to  be  the  crown  of 
her  house,  and  a  rich  blessing  to  the  world. 

The  curses  of  a  priest  that  followed  the  lad  as  he 
went  to  Dublin  to  embark  for  America  did  him  no 
harm. 

lie  had  about  twelve  dollars  in  money  when  he 
came  to  New  York.  Finding  lodgings,  he  began  to 
search  for  business,  going  from  place  to  place  in  the 
city,  willing  to  work,  and  resolved  to  do  any  thing 
that  was  honest  for  the  sake  of  support.  It  was  a 
kind  Providence  that  directed  him  to  the  printing- 
house  of  th-e  Messrs.  Harper,  who  were  then  in  busi- 
ness in  Pearl  Street. 

Unlike  many  employers,  these  men  felt  a  deep  re- 
sponsibility for  those  whom  they  employed,  and  the 
most  of  their  apprentices  at  that  time  were  boarded 
and  lodged  under  their  own  roof  Young  Murray 
was  thus  immediately  introduced  into  a  Protestant 
Christian  family,  into  associations  with  young  men  of 


16  BIRTH,  PARENTAGE,  ETC. 

An  apprentice.  The  mother  of  the  Iliirpen". 

his  own  age  who  had  been  rehgiouslj  educated ;  and 
the  influences  were  eminently  favorable  to  his  own 
moral  improvement. 

Few,  if  any,  boys  ever  came  into  the  establishment 
of  the  Harpers  with  less  promise  in  their  appearance 
and  manner  than  Murray.  His  education  and  associ- 
ations in  the  old  country  had  not  fitted  him  to  fill  any 
position  that  required  culture ;  but  he  was  ready  to 
turn  his  hand  to  any  thing  useful.  He  worked  at  the 
printing  business  and  at  the  press  with  a  steady  cheer- 
fulness that  won  for  him  the  favor  of  all  around  him. 
Even  at  this  period  in  his  history,  a  vein  of  humor, 
technically  called  Irish  humor,  ran  through  his  con- 
versation, making  him  a  lively,  genial  companion. 

The  Harpers  were  and  are  members  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church.  The  partners  were  then  the 
brothers  James  and  John.  Two  younger  brothers, 
Wesley  and  Fletcher  Harper,  who  are  now  with 
them  in  the  firm  of  Harper  &  Brothers,  were  then 
working  at  the  business  with  Murray  and  others. 
They  were  also  his  companions  by  night  and  day, 
occupying  the  same  room  with  him  in  their  mother's 
house.  This  mother  of  the  Harpers  was  a  mother  in- 
deed: a  woman  full  of  faith  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  a 
living  witness  and  example  of  the  power  of  that  rehg- 
ion  which  she  loved,  and  commended  to  all  in  her 
house.  Dr.  Murray  has  often  said  that  the  first  mis- 
givings that  he  felt  after  coming  to  this  country  as  to 
the  reality  of  the  religion  in  which  he  was  born  and 
taught  were  caused  by  the  holy  life  and  conversation 
of  this  venerable  and  pious  woman.     She  was  then 


BIRTH,  PAEENTAGE,  ETC.  17 


Keminiscences  by  one  who  knew  him. 


making  an  impression  upon  the  mind  of  one  who  was 
afterward  to  make  his  mark  upon  the  mind  of  the 
world. 

One  of  his  fellow-apprentices  is  now  the  Rev.  P.  C. 
Oakley,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  He  also 
lodged  in  the  same  room  with  him  and  the  younger 
Harpers.     Mr.  Oakley  says, 

"I  remember  his  fine  ruddy  countenance  and  hair 
as  black  as  a  raven.    His  voice  and  appearance  clearly 
indicated  that  he  came  from  the  Emerald  Isle.    Beino- 
myself  a  Protestant,  and  associating  with  him  con* 
stantly,  we  had  frequent  and  earnest  controversies  on 
the  subject  of  religion.     He  often  became  greatly  ex- 
cited.    On  one  occasion,  after  I  had  gone  to  bed,  he 
became  so  out  of  patience  with  me  in  one  of  our  doc- 
trinal controversies  that  he  exclaimed,  'I  would  not  be 
a  Methodist  or  a  Presbyterian  if  I  knew  they  were 
right !'    Of  course  that  silenced  me  for  that  time.     He, 
however,  became  modified  in  his  views  and  feelings' 
and  ultimately  became  first  a  Methodist,  and  then'^a 
Presbyterian.     There  was  at  this  time  a  gracious  re- 
vival of  religion  in  progress  in  the  John  Street  Meth- 
odist Church,  then  under  the  pastoral  care  of  the  Eev. 
Tobias  Spicer.    Young  Murray  attended  the  meetings, 
became  deeply  interested,  and  professed  to  be  convert- 
ed to  God." 

From  the  moment  that  his  mind  was  awakened  by 
the  religious  exercises  in  this  Christian  household,  and 
by  the  discussions  he  had  with  the  young  men  around 
him,  he  determined  to  look  for  himself  into  the  truth 
of  the  system  in  which  he  had  been  trained  in  his 


18  BIRTH,  PAEEXTAGE,  ETC. 

Ignorance  of  the  Bibls.  His  ovra  account. 

childhood.  He  went  to  the  Bible,  not  doubting  that 
he  should  find  it  all  there.  But  he  was  so  ignorant 
of  the  Bible,  though  eighteen  years  of  age,  that  he  did 
not  know  the  difterence  between  the  Old  and  the  New 
Testaments ;  he  could  not  tell  whether  Moses  was  or 
was  not  one  of  the  apostles,  or  Paul  one  of  the  ancient 
prophets!  His  education  had  been  in  the  rites  and 
ceremonies  of  the  Eoman  Catholic  Church,  but  not  in 
the  word  and  doctrine  of  the  Bible.  In  after  years, 
when  setting  forth  the  reasons  that  induced  him  to 
leave  the  Church  of  Eome,  he  gives  an  account  of  his 
own  personal  experience  that  will  be  read  with  even 
intenser  interest  in  this  connection : 

"I  was  born  of  Roman  Catholic  parents,  and  received 
my  early  education  in  the  full  faith  of  that  Church.  I 
was  baptized  by  a  priest — I  was  confirmed  by  a  bish- 
op— I  often  went  to  confession — I  have  worn  my  amu- 
lets, and  I  have  said  my  Pater  Nosters  and  my  Hail 
Marys  more  times  than  I  can  now  enumerate.  When 
a  youth,  none  excelled  me  in  my  attention  to  Mass, 
nor  in  the  performance  of  the  penances  enjoined  by 
the  father  confessor ;  and,  whatever  were  my  occasion- 
al mental  misgivings,  I  remained  a  true  son  of  the 
Church  until  I  had  at  least  outgrown  my  boyhood. 
Then,  on  as  full  an  examination  of  the  subject  as  I 
could  give  it,  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  I  could  not 
remain  a  Roman  Catholic.  I  first  became  an  infidel. 
Knowing  nothing  of  religion  but  that  which  was 
taught  me  by  parents  and  priests,  and  thinking  that 
that  was  the  sum  of  it,  when  that  was  rejected,  infidel- 
ity became  my  only  alternative.     Could  it  be  other- 


BIRTH,  PARENTAGE,  ETC.                            19 
Drunken  priest.  Father  B . 

wise  ?  Subsequently,  by  the  reading  of  the  Bible  and 
by  the  grace  of  God,  I  was  led  to  embrace  the  religion 
of  the  Gospel. 

"Although  the  son  of  intelligent  parents,  and  edu- 
cated from  my  youth  for  the  mercantile  profession,  the 
miraculous  power  of  the  priest  is  yet  associated  with 
my  earliest  recollections  of  him.  Two  things  greatly 
shook  my  faith  in  the  possession  of  this  power.  There 
resided  not  far  from  my  parental  residence  a  priest, 
whose  fame  as  a  miracle-worker  was  known  all  over 
the  county  in  which  he  resided.  The  road  to  his 
house  (called  in  that  country  a  bridle-road)  went  by 
our  door.  I  frequently  saw,  in  the  morning,  individ- 
uals riding  by,  with  a  little  keg  resting  before  them 
on  the  saddle,  or  a  jug  hanging  by  the  horse's  side. 
I  often  asked  who  they  were,  and  where  they  were 
going.     I  was  told  that  they  were  going  to  Father 

C 's  to  get  some  of  their  sick  cured.     I  asked  what 

was  in  the  keg  or  jug.  I  was  told  that  it  was  Irish 
whisky  to  pay  the  priest  for  his  cures.  I  asked  why 
they  went  so  early  in  the  morning.  I  was  answered 
that  unless  they  went  early  they  would  not  find  him 

sober.     The  tabernacle  of  poor  Father  C was 

made  of  dry  clay,  and  needed  a  daily  wetting. 

"  In  one  of  the  large  interior  towns  of  Ireland  where 
I  resided,  the  bishop  of  the  diocese  met  his  priests,  or 
a  part  of  them,  once  a  year.  Their  meeting  was  al- 
ways held  in  the  house  where  I  resided,  and  over  the 
store  in  which  I  was  then  a  clerk.  Among  the  priests 
that  always  met  the  bishop  was  the  rollicking  Father 
B ,  whose  fame  as  a  miracle- worker  was  extensive. 


20  BIRTH,  PARENTAGE,  ETC. 

A  etuuaing  answer.  I'lirgatory. 

He  had  also  a  reputation  for  learning  and  eloquence, 
and,  because  of  his  connection  with  an  old  and  wealthy 
family,  exerted  a  wide  social  influence.  He  always 
staid  with  us  when  he  came  to  town.  About  ten 
o'clock  one  night,  after  one  of  those  meetings  of  bish- 
op and  priests,  I  went  out  to  shut  up  the  store  win- 
dows, and,  hearing  a  singular  noise  in  the  gutter,  I 
went  forward  and  assisted  a  man  out  of  the  mire.  I 
soon  recognized  him  to  be  Father  B ,  the  miracle- 
worker.  Eunning  in,  I  announced,  with  some  excite- 
ment, to  the  lady  of  the  house,  that  Father  B was 

drunk  in  the  street.  I  received  for  my  pains  a  stun- 
ning slap  on  the  side  of  the  face,  with  this  admonition, 
'  Never  say  again  that  a  priest  is  drunk.'  This  was 
a  very  impressive  argument,  and  which,  for  some  time, 
rung  in  my  ears.  I  staggered  under  the  blow.  I  as- 
sisted in  cleaning  off  his  reverence.  I  gave  him  his 
brandy  next  morning ;  and,  young  as  I  was,  my  faith 
in  miracle-working  priests  was  effectually  shaken.  Al- 
though fearing  to  draw  the  conclusion,  I  felt  it,  that 
God  would  not  bestow  miraculous  power  upon  those 
who  lived  a  life,  not  of  occasional,  but  of  habitual  in- 
temperance. 

"The  doctrine  of  Purgatory  is  one  of  the  peculiar 
and  most  cherished  doctrines  of  the  Koman  CathoHc 
Church.  In  Ireland  the  custom  of  the  priest  is,  at  a 
certain  point  in  the  service  of  the  Mass,  to  turn  his 
back  to  the  altar  and  his  face  to  the  people,  and  to 
read  a  long  list  of  the  names  of  deceased  persons 
whose  souls  arc  in  Purgatory,  and  to  offer  up  a  pray- 
er for  their  deliverance  from  it.     This  is  done,  or  used 


BIRTH,  PARENTAGE,  ETC.  21 

Tlie  widow's  Mass.  No  pay,  no  pray. 

to  be  done,  in  our  chapel  on  every  Sabbath,  To  ob- 
tain the  name  of  a  deceased  relative  on  that  magic 
list,  the  priest  must  be  paid  so  much  a  year,  varying, 
I  believe,  with  the  ability  of  the  friends  to  pay.  If 
the  yearly  payment  is  not  made  when  due,  the  name 
of  the  person  is  erased  from  the  list.  A  respectable 
man  in  our  parish  died  in  midlife,  leaving  a  widow 
and  a  large  family  of  children  to  mourn  his  loss.  True 
to  her  religious  principles  and  to  her  generous  in- 
stincts, the  widow  had  her  husband's  name  placed  on 
that  list,  and  heard,  with  pious  gratitude,  his  name 
read  over  from  Sabbath  to  Sabbath,  with  a  prayer  of- 
fered for  the  deliverance  of  his  soul  from  Purgatory. 
After  the  lapse  of  two  or  three  years,  on  a  certain 
Sabbath  the  name  of  her  husband  was  omitted  from 
the  list.  The  fact  filled  her  with  mingled  joy  and 
fear — joy,  thinking  that  her  husband  had  escaped  from 
Purgatory  ;  and  fear,  lest  she  had  done  something  to 
offend  the  priest;  and  they  are  very  easily  offended 
when  money  is  in  question.  On  timid  inquiry,  she 
learned  that  his  soul  was  yet  in  Purgatory,  but  that 
she  had  forgotten  to  send  in  the  yearly  tax  at  the  time 
it  was  due.  The  tax  was  promptly  paid,  and  the  name 
was  restored  on  the  next  Sabbath.  That  widow  was 
my  own  mother,  who  sought  the  release  of  the  soul 
of  my  father  from  Purgatory.  This  incident  made  a 
deep  impression  upon  my  youthful  mind,  and  shook 
my  faith  in  the  whole  system.  And,  as  far  as  mem- 
ory serves  mc.  Father  M was  an  amiable  man, 

and  above  the  ordinary  level  of  the  men  of  his  call- 
ing- 


22  BIRTH,  PARENTAGE,  ETC. 

Tno  kinds  of  sinners.  Saints  and  angeld. 

"Another  fact  whicli  early  impressed  me  in  reference 
to  Purgatory  was  this.  The  Eomish  Church  makes  a 
distinction  between  mortal  and  venial  sinners.  The 
former  go  to  hell  forever ;  the  latter  go  to  Purgatory, 
'  whence  they  are  taken  by  the  prayers  and  alms  of- 
fered for  them,  and  principally  by  the  holy  sacrifice 
of  the  Mass.'  Now  I  always  saw  that  the  most  mortal 
sinners,  that  every  body  would  say  went  to  hell,  could 
always  have  masses  said  for  them  as  if  they  went  to 
Purgatory,  provided  their  friends  could  pa}- ;  and  that 
less  mortal  sinners,  that  people  would  say  went  to  Pur- 
gatory, were  sent  to  hell  if  their  friends  could  not  pay 
for  masses  for  them ;  and  their  souls  were  kept  in 
Purgatory  for  a  long  while  when  their  friends  paid 
promptly  every  year,  but  their  souls  were  soon  prayed 
out  whose  friends  could  not  pay  long  for  them.  Facts 
like  these  very  early  impressed  my  mind,  and  shook 
my  faith  in  the  religion  of  my  parents  and  priests ; 
and  when,  in  maturer  years,  I  could  more  fully  con- 
sider them,  they  led  me  to  reject  religion  as  a  fable 
cunningly  devised  by  priests. 

"Again :  to  pray  to  angels  and  saints  is  a  doctrine  of 
the  Romish  Church.  In  our  parish  chapel  there  were 
a  great  many  pictures  of  saints,  with  very  little  preten- 
sion to  art,  and  which  reflected  but  little  credit  on 
painter  or  engraver.  Whose  pictures  they  were  I  do 
not  remember ;  but  on  Sabbath  morning,  an  hour  be- 
fore Mass,  I  have  often  seen  the  poor  people,  and  even 
some  more  wealthy  and  refined,  going  on  their  knees 
from  the  one  picture  to  the  other,  and  counting  their 
beads,  and  bowing  before  them  with  external  acts  of 


BIRTH,  PARENTAGE,  ETC.  23 

Idolatry.  The  confeaaional. 

the  most  profound  and  sincere  worship.  Although 
then  I  thought  differently,  I  have  not  now  a  doubt 
but  that  it  was  idolatry.  But  the  idea  that  struck  me 
was  this :  Here  are  some  praying  to  Peter,  or  Paul,  or 
John,  or  Mary ;  the  same  pictures  are  hung  up  in  ten 
thousand  chapels  all  over  the  world,  and  in  all  these 
chapels  persons  are  praying  to  them.  Can  these  good 
saints  hear  but  in  one  place,  or  can  they  hear  all  every 
where  praying  to  them  ?  If  they  can  hear  all,  then 
they  are  omnipresent ;  if  omnipresent,  they  are  gods. 
Thus  we  have  as  many  gods  as  saints.  But  if  they 
hear  but  in  one  place,  then  nine  thousand  nine  hundred 
and  ninety-nine  out  of  the  ten  thousand  are  praying  to 
an  absent  saint !  This  one  thought  very  early  in  life 
impressed  my  mind,  and  was  not  the  least  powerful 
among  the  causes  which  led  me,  eventually,  to  reject 
the  authority  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 

"  The  doctrine  of  confession  is  one  of  the  primary 
doctrines  of  the  Romish  Church.  It  requires  every 
good  papist  to  confess  his  sins  to  a  priest  at  least  once 
a  year.  If  any  sins  are  concealed,  none  are  forgiven. 
This  doctrine  makes  the  bosom  of  the  priest  the  re- 
pository of  all  the  sins  of  all  the  sinners  of  his  parish 
who  make  a  conscience  of  confession.  Hence  the  com- 
mon saying  in  Ireland,  '  You  carry  as  much  sin  about 
you  as  the  priest's  horse.'  And  this  is  one  of  the 
sources  of  the  fearful  power  which  the  priests  have 
over  the  people ;  and  with  this  doctrine  of  confession 
is  connected  the  power  of  the  father  confessor  to  grant 
absolution  to  the  confessing  penitent. 

"  Father  M held  frequently  his  confessions  at  the 


24  BIJRTH,  PARENTAGE,  ETC. 

Walking  on  their  knees.  Effect  of  confesding. 

houso  in  which  I  was  clerk.  He  sat  in  a  dark  room 
up  stairs,  with  one  or  more  candles  on  a  table  before 
him.  Those  going  to  confession  followed  each  other 
on  their  knees  from  the  front  door,  through  the  hall, 
up  the  stairs,  and  to  the  door  of  the  room.  When  one 
came  out  of  the  confessing-room,  another  entered.  My 
turn  came.  I  entered  the  room,  from  which  the  light 
of  day  was  excluded,  and  bowed  myself  before  the 
priest.  lie  made  over  me  the  sign  of  the  cross,  and 
after  praying  something  in  Latin,  he  ordered  me  to 
commence  the  detail  of  my  sins.  Such  was  my  fright 
that  my  memory  soon  failed  in  bringing  up  past  delin- 
quencies. He  would  prompt  me,  and  ask.  Did  you  do 
this  thing  or  that  thing  ?  I  would  answer  yes  or  no. 
And  when  I  could  say  no  more,  he  would  wave  his 
hand  over  me,  and  again  utter  some  words  in  Latin, 
and  dismiss  me.  Through  this  process  I  often  went, 
and  never  without  feeling  that  my  sins  were  forgiven. 
Sins  that  burdened  me  before  were  now  disregard- 
ed. The  load  of  guilt  was  gone ;  and  I  often  felt, 
when  prompted  to  sin,  that  I  could  commit  it  with 
impunity,  as  I  could  soon  confess  it  and  secure  its  par- 
don. 

"  The  questions,  however,  often  came  up,  Why  does 
the  priest  go  into  a  dark  room  in  the  daytime  ?  Why 
not  pray  for  me  in  English,  and  not  in  Latin  ?  How 
can  he  forgive  sin  ?  What  if  my  sins,  after  all,  arc 
not  forgiven  ?  And  I  always  found  that  I  could  play 
my  pranks  better  after  confession  than  before,  for  I 
could  go  at  them  with  a  lighter  heart.  Very  early  in 
life  my  confidence  in  this  doctrine  of  confession  was 


BIRTH,  PARENTAGE,  ETC.  25 


St.  John's  WcU. 


Hags  of  the  cured. 


shaken,  and  at  a  later  period  I  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  it  was  a  priestlj  device  to  insnare  the  conscience 
and  to  enslave  men. 

"Another  thing  which  made  early  a  deep  impression 
on  my  mind  was  this.     On  my  first  remembered  jour- 
ney to  Dublin,  we  passed  by  a  place  called,  unless  I 
mistake,  St.  John's  Well.     It  is  one  of  the  '  holy  wells' 
of  Ireland.     There  was  a  vast  crowd  of  poor-looking 
and  diseased  people  around  it.     Some  were  praying, 
some  shouting;  many  were  up  in  the  trees  which  sur- 
rounded it.     All  these  trees  were  laden,  in  all  their 
branches,  with  shreds  of  cloth  of  every  possible  variety 
and  color.    I  inquired  what  all  this  meant.    I  was  told 
'This  is  St.  John's  Well,  and  these  people  come  here 
to  get  cured.'     But  what  do  those  rags  mean,  hanging 
on  the  trees  ?    I  was  told  that  the  people  who  were  not 
mimediately  cured  tied  a  piece  of  their  garments  on 
some  limb  of  the  trees,  to  keep  the  good  saint  of  the 
well  m  mind  of  their  application;  and,  judging  from 
the  number  of  pieces  tied  on  the  trees,  I  inferred  that 
the  number  that  went  away  cured  were  very  few     I 
had  previously  read  some  travels  in  Africa  describino- 
some  of  the  religious  rites  of  the  sable  sons  of  that  con° 
tinent,  and  the  thought  that  those  performed  around 
St.  John's  Well  were  just  like  them  occurred  to  me 
I  have  no  doubt  but  that  the  rites  witnessed  in  my 
youth  are  performed  there  yet;  that  the  rags  of  dis- 
eased persons  are  now  streaming  from  those  trees  to 
remmd-the  saint  of  the  requests  of  those  who  suspend- 
ed them.     There  was  always  a  priest  present  to  hear 
confessions,  and  to  receive  the  pennies  of  the  poor  pil- 

B 


26  BIRTH,  PARENTAGE,  ETC. 

Sun  dancing.  The  trick  discovered. 

grims ;  and  the  imjDression  then  made  upon  my  mind 
was,  that  it  was  a  piece  of  paganism. 

"  I  well  remember  yet  another  of  these  impostures. 
"When  a  boy,  I  often  heard  that  on  the  morning  of 
Easter  Sunday  the  sun  might  be  seen  dancing  in  the 
heavens  and  in  the  chapels,  to  express  its  joy  on  the 
anniversary  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  and  I  often 
wished  to  be  where  I  could  witness  the  phenomenon. 
It  took  place  in  a  certain  chapel,  and  in  the  presence 
of  many  pious  and  admiring  beholders.  An  unbe- 
liever in  priestly  miracles  was  present,  who  traced  up 
the  dancing  of  the  sunbeams  through  the  chapel  to 
an  individual  managing  concealed  mirrors  so  as  to 
produce  the  wonderful  effect !  Of  this  I  heard ;  and 
although  it  seemed  incredible,  yet  it  made  an  impres- 
sion on  my  mind.  The  probability  of  the  imposture 
can  not  be  doubted  by  those  who  know  that  the  earth 
which  covers  the  grave  of  Father  Sheely  (who  was 
convicted  of  treason,  and  hung  in  the  county  of  Tip- 
perary),  when  boiled  in  milk,  cures  a  variety  of  dis- 
eases. 

"  For  years  together  I  sat  daily  at  table  with  a  Cath- 
olic priest,  who  was  a  member  of  the  family,  and  the 
curate  of  the  parish,  and  I  never  saw  a  Bible  used  in 
the  family.  I  never  heard  at  table,  or  in  the  morn- 
ing, or  in  the  evening,  a  religious  service.  The  num- 
bers of  the  Douay  Bible,  published  by  subscription  in 
folio,  were  taken  in  the  family,  but  never  read.  And 
not  only  so,  but  I  never  heard  a  sermon  preached  in  a 
Catholic  chapel  in  Ireland,  nor  a  word  of  explanation 
on  a  single  Christian  topic,  doctrine,  or  duty:     The 


BIRTH,  PARENTAGE,  ETC.  27 

llis  mind  a  blank.  Fasting. 

thing  nearest  to  a  sermon  that  I  heard  was  a  scold 
from  the  altar  because  some  person  sent  for  the  priest 
at  midnight  to  confess  and  anoint  a  dying  person. 
And  before  I  was  sixteen  years  of  ag^  I  never  read  a 
chapter  in  the  Word  of  God,  while  in  other  respects 
my  education  was  not  neglected.  I  often  asked  the 
meaning  of  this  thing  and  the  other,  but  there  was  no 
explanation. 

"  On  reaching  the  years  of  maturity  my  mind  was  a 
perfect  blank  as  to  all  religious  knowledge.  While 
my  mind  was  filled  with  superstitious  notions  concern- 
ing meats  and  penances,  and  external  observances  and 
legends,  it  was  utterly  ignorant  of  the  Bible.  With 
my  Missal  I  was  somewhat  familiar :  I  said  the  Cate- 
chism when  I  was  confirmed,  at  the  age  of  nine  or  ten, 
and  that  was  the  amount  of  my  religious  education. 
At  the  age  of  eighteen  years  the  Catechism  was  for- 
gotten and  the  Missal  was  neglected ;  and  as  my  con- 
science was  uneducated,  and  my  mind  unfurnished 
with  religious  principles,  the  only  test  of  truth  left  me 
was  my  common  sense.  I  then  became  the  associate 
of  companions  of  Protestant  education,  who  would 
sometimes  ask  me  my  reason  for  this  and  that  observ- 
ance, and  not  being  able  to  give  any,  as  none  were 
ever  given  me,  I  was  frequently  put  to  the  blush. 

"  From  my  youth  up  I  was  taught  to  abstain  from 
all  meats  on  Fridays  and  Saturdays.  Why  on  these 
days  more  than  any  other  I  was  never  told.  And  if, 
by  mistake,  I  was  involved  in  the  violation  of  this  law, 
I  felt  a  burden  upon  my  conscience  of  which  confes- 
sion could  only  relieve  me.     Circumstances  led  me  to 


28  BIKTH,  PARENTAGE,  ETC. 

No  meat  on  Friday.  His  first  step. 

inquire  into  this  matter.  I  saw  good  papists  eating 
eggs,  and  fish,  and  getting  drunk  on  these  days,  but 
this  was  no  violation  of  the  law  of  the  Church !  Yet, 
if  these  persons  should  eat  meat  of  any  kind,  or  usg» 
gravy  in  any  way,  their  consciences  were  troubled, 
and  they  must  perform  penance !  This  led  me  to 
ask,  Is  this  reasonable?  If  I  may  eat  meat  on  Thurs- 
day," why  not  on  Friday  ?  Can  God,  in  things  of  this 
kind,  make  that  to  be  a  sin  on  one  day  which  is  not 
on  another?  I  saw,  also,  persons  for  whose  moral 
worth  I  had  the  highest  regard  eating  meats  on  those 
days,  and  without  any  injury,  and  I  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  the  regulations  upon  this  matter  were 
unreasonable,  and  rejected  them.  And,  as  far  as  I 
now  remember,  this  was  my  first  step  toward  light 
and  freedom. 

"  Devoted  to  reading  at  this  period  of  my  life,  I  pe- 
rused, without  discrimination,  every  thing  that  came 
in  my  way.  Some  book  or  tract,  now  forgotten,  gave 
rise  to  some  inquiries  as  to  the  Mass.  I  asked,  "What 
does  it  mean?  I  could  not  tell,  though  for  years  a 
regular  attendant  upon  it.  Why  does  the  priest  dress 
so?  What  book  does  he  read  from  when  carried  now 
to  his  right  and  now  to  his  left?  What  mean  those 
candles  burning  at  noonday  ?  Why  do  I  say  prayers 
in  Latin  which  I  understand  not  ?  Should  I  not  know 
what  I  am  saying  when  addressing  my  Maker  ?  Why 
bow  down,  and  strike  my  breast,  when  the  little  bell 
rings?  What  does  it  all  mean?  The  darkness  of 
Egypt  rested  upon  these  questions.  I  thus  reasoned 
with  myself :  God  is  a  spiritual  and  intelligent  being. 


BIRTH,  PARENTAGE,  ETC.  29 


Tlic  U&sa  abandoned.  Conviction. 


and  He  requires  an  intelligent  worship.  AVhat  wor- 
ship I  render  Hito  in  the  Mass  I  know  not.  My  intel- 
ligent worship  only  is  acceptable  to  Him,  and  is  bene- 
ficial to  me.  I  am  a  rational  being,  and  I  degrade  my 
nature  and  insult  my  Maker  by  ofiering  to  Him  a  wor- 
ship in  which  neither  my  reason  nor  Ms  intelligence 
is  consulted.  Having  come  to  this  conclusion,  I  gave 
up  the  Mass  as  a  superstitious  form,  well  enough  fitted 
for  an  idol,  but  unfitted  to  be  rendered  by  a  rational 
being  to  the  infinitely  intelligent  Jehovah.  I  have 
never  been  to  Mass  since,  save  out  of  curiosity  to  sec 
how  an  ignorant  people  can  be  edified  by  -what  seems 
to  me  the  most  unmeaning  and  farcical  of  all  the  rites 
that  ever  man  has  devised, 

"  When  I  came  to  this  conclusion  on  the  subject  of 
the  Mass,  I  experienced  no  great  difiiculty  as  to  other 
matters  which  passed  rapidly  in  review  before  me. 
Must  I  go  to  confession?  My  prejudices  said  Yes; 
my  reason  said  No ;  and  my  logic  was  simply  as  fol- 
lows :  If  I  truly  repent  of  my  sins,  God  will  forgive 
me ;  if  I  do  not,  the  priest  can  not  absolve  me ;  and  I 
spurned  as  unreasonable,  and  as  an  insult  to  my  com- 
mon sense,  the  terrible  doctrine  that '  every  Christian 
is  bound,  under  2xdn  of  damnation^  to  confess  to  a  priest 
all  his  mortal  sins,  which,  after  diligent  examination, 
he  can  possibly  remember ;  yea,  even  his  most  secret 
sins— his  very  thoughts ;  yea,  and  all  the  circumstan- 
ces of  them  which  are  of  any  moment.' 

"  With  yet  greater  abhorrence  I  gave  up  the  doctrine 
of  transubstantiation.  As  explained  by  Dr.  Challo- 
ner  in  his  'Catholic  Christian  Instructed,'  it  means 


30  BIRTH,  PARENTAGE,  ETC. 

Transubstantiation.  Absurdity. 

'that  the  bread  and  wine  are  changed  by  the  conse- 
cration into  the  body  and  blood  of  Cbirist ;  and  are  so 
changed  that  Christ  himself,  true  God  and  true  man, 
is  truly,  really,  and  substantially  present  in  the  sacra- 
ment.' "With  this  doctrine  in  view,  I  went  to  witness 
the  administration  of  the  Eucharist.  I  went  to  St. 
Peter's,  in  Barclay  Street.  The  communicants  drew 
around  the  altar  upon  their  knees.  With  a  little  box 
in  his  hand,  the  priest  passed  from  one  to  the  other, 
taking  a  wafer,  smaller  than  that  used  in  sealing  a  let- 
ter, from  the  box,  and  placing  it  upon  the  extended 
tongue  of  the  communicant.  I  was  always  taught 
that  the  teeth  must  not  touch  the  wafer — that  it  must 
melt  upon  the  tongue.  This  I  find  to  be  the  law  of 
the  Church.  I  witnessed  the  ceremony,  as  I  had  often 
done  before.  I  retired  from  the  scene  asking  these 
questions :  Is  that  little  wafer  the  real  body  and  blood 
of  Christ  ?  Does  the  priest,  in  that  little  box,  not  as 
large  as  a  snuff-box,  carry  two  or  three  hundred  real 
bodies  of  Christ?  Do  these  communicants,  each  in 
their  turn,  eat  the  real  body  and  blood  of  Christ  ?  I 
can  not  express  the  violence  with  which  my  mind  re- 
jected the  absurdity.  Look  at  it  in  what  light  you 
may,  it  is  abhorrent  to  our  common  reason :  it  gives 
the  lie  to  every  sense  with  which  God  has  endowed 
us.  It  is  a  wicked  imposition.  It  is  an  impious  i^riest- 
ly  hoax,  which,  if  practiced  by  a  juggler,  would  sub- 
ject him  to  the  penalties  of  the  law  against  blasphemy. 
"  Having  gone  through  this  process,  not  with  a  light 
and  trifling,  but  with  a  serious  mind,  my  prejudices 
rising  in  stormy  rebellion  against  my  convictions,  I 


BIRTH,  PARENTAGE,  ETC.  81 

The  delusion  gone.  Nothing  left. 

raised  my  eyes,  and  behold,  my  religion  was  gone! 
The  priest  was  a  juggler,  and  his  religion  a  fable ! 
Every  thing  that  I  had  ever  learned  from  parent  and 
priest  to  esteem  as  religion  was  now  rejected  as  false ; 
and  not  knowing  but  that  this  was  all  of  religion  that 
was  in  the  world,  I  had  no  alternative  but  infidelity. 
I  had  no  test  of  truth  but  my  reason,  and  when  I 
brought  the  Koman  Catholic  system  to  that,  I  was 
compelled  to  reject  it,  not  only  as  false,  but  as  a  mon- 
strous absurdity,  and  with  it  all  religion." 


'62  CONVERSION   AND   DECISION. 

Rev.  Dr.  Mason.  A  probationer. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Hears  Rev.  Dr.  Mason.  —  Conversion. — Joins  the  Brick  Presby- 
terian Church. —  His  first  Prayer  in  Public. —  Letter  from  Rev. 
Mr.  Steele. — Meets  Rev.  Dr.  Proudfit. — Letter  from  him. — En- 
couraged to  study  for  the  Ministr}-. — Goes  to  Amherst  Academy. — 
Writes  to  Rev.  Dr.  Griffin. — Letter  from  him. 

In  the  perplexity  and  darkness  whicli  beset  him 
when  compelled  to  abandon  the  miserable  religion  he 
brought  with  him  from  Ireland,  Mr.  Murray  was  kind- 
ly and  rapidly  guided  into  the  way  of  light  and  truth. 
During  the  months  of  his  conflict,  and  while  he  was 
actually  persuading  himself  that  the  conflict  was  over, 
and  all  religions  were  alike  impostures  unworthy  of 
his  belief,  he  was  led  one  day  to  hear  a  sermon  by  the 
Rev.  Dr.  John  M.  Mason,  and  another  and  another. 
One  from  that  distinguished  preacher  on  the  First 
Epistle  of  Peter  shattered  his  poor  fabric  of  infidelity 
into  fragments.  He  awoke  to  the  consciousness  of 
his  condition  as  a  sinner  in  need  of  salvation.  The 
way  of  life  by  Christ  Jesus  was  opened  to  him  by  the 
Spirit.  He  was  received  as  a  member  on  probation 
in  the  Methodist  Church,  and  so  remained  for  a  year 
or  more. 

About  this  time  he  was  thrown  into  association 
with  some  of  the  young  men  who  belonged  to  the 
Brick  Presbyterian  Church,  of  which  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Spring  was  pastor.     He  had  sought  religious  counsel 


CONVERSION  AND  DECISION,  S3 

Mr.  Kirk.  Rev.  J.  B.  Steele. 

and  instruction  from  Dr.  Mason,  whose  reception  did 
not  encourage  him  to  repeat  his  visit.  But  his  young 
companions  soon  brought  him  into  communion  with 
Dr.  Spring,  and  when  his  religious  views  became  more 
settled,  and  he  had  had  time  to  give  the  subject  seri- 
ous study  and  reflection,  he  made  a  public  profession 
of  religion  in  this  church. 

In  the  autumn  of  the  year  1820  young  Murray,  still 
in  the  employment  of  the  Harpers,  became  a  boarder 
in  the  house  of  Mr.  Kirk,  in  Liberty  Street.  Mr.  Kirk 
was  a  worthy  and  well-known  member  of  the  Church 
of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Mason,  and  one  of  the  straitest  of  the 
denomination  that  held  fast  to  the  forms  and  faith  of 
the  Kirk  of  Scotland.  Equally  did  he  hold  in  ab- 
horrence the  practice  of  reading  sermons  in  the  pulpit 
and  the  use  of  Watts'  hymns.  Dr.  Mason,  with  oth- 
ers of  the  Church  which  he  adorned,  had  established 
a  school  for  the  instruction  of  young  men  in  the- 
ology, and  the  families  of  the  Church  were  in  the 
habit  of  "taking  student  boarders,"  thus  giving  them 
important  assistance  in  making  their  way  through 
their  divinity  course.  Among  the  students  to  whom 
this  kindness  was  extended  was  one  who  is  now  the 
Rev.  J.  B.  Steele,  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church,  lie 
gives  me  his  recollections  of  that  winter  with  Nicholas 
Murray : 

"In  the  winter  of  1820, 1  resided  with  Mr.  George 
Kirk  in  Liberty  Street,  and  was  a  student  in  my  sen- 
ior year,  in  Dr.  Mason's  Seminary,  receiving  the  in- 
struction of  Dr.  Alexander  M'Leod,  Dr.  Alexander 
M'Clelland,  and  Dr.  John  Knox.  Mr.  Kirk  was  a 
B2 


34  CONVERSION  AND  DECISION. 

Margerie  M'Leod.  The  young  Irishman. 

Scotchman  of  the  old  school,  very  intelligent,  pious, 
orthodox,  and  a  great  hater  of  Dr.  Watts'  Psalms  and 
Hymns.  He  was  a  member  of  Dr.  Mason's  Church. 
There  was  also  in  the  family  a  maiden  lady  of  great 
intelligence  and  piety,  Margerie  M'Leod.  She  was  a 
prim  lady,  wore  a  high  turban,  was  very  dignified  in 
her  manners,  and  a  very  kind-hearted  woman.  She 
still  lives,  and  is  over  ninety  years  of  age.  She  had  a 
select  school  of  young  ladies  from  the  best  families  in 
the  city,  the  second  school  of  the  kind  in  New  York 
after  Mrs.  Graham's,  She  had  with  her  in  her  school 
her  niece,  an  educated  young  lady.  Into  this  family 
came  young  Murray  in  the  fall  of  1821 ;  he  was  seven- 
teen or  eighteen  years  of  age.  At  that  time  he  was  a 
stout,  thick-set,  clumsy-looking  boy.  He  was  singu- 
larly dressed ;  had  a  round,  open,  generous  face ;  was 
full  of  Irish  wit,  humor,  joke,  and  blunder.  His  man- 
ners, though  awkward,  were  soon  overlooked,  and  he 
became  the  favorite  of  the  whole  family.  At  every 
meal  we  anticipated  his  good  humor ;  and,  while  we 
all  enjoyed  his  pleasantries,  it  was  not  long  before  we 
discovered  that  he  possessed  real  native  talent,  and  the 
high-turbaned  lady  was  the  first  to  say, '  That  young 
man  should  be  educated.'  Mr.  Kirk  kept  a  store, 
which  prevented  him  frequently  from  attending  morn- 
ing prayers,  and  sitting  with  his  family  at  meals ;  and 
it  usually  fell  to  my  lot  to  conduct  the  devotions  of 
the  family,  ask  a  blessing  and  return  thanks,  accord- 
ing to  the  good  old  custom,  when  people  had  time  to 
eat  and  thank  the  Lord,  Murray  at  this  time  had 
made  a  profession  of  religion,  and  appeared  to  be  a 


CONVERSION  AND   DECISION.  85 


Returning  thanka. A  great  blunder. 

genuine  Christian.  He  was  always  willing  to  listen 
to  pious  discourse,  and  much  pains  were  taken  to  cul- 
tivate his  grace  and  lead  him  to  exercise  some  spirit- 
ual gifts.  I  had  much  conversation  with  him  on  sub- 
jects of  this  nature,  and  said  to  him  on  one  occasion, 
'  Murray,  I  will  ask  you  some  day  to  return  thanks  at 
the  table,  and  you  must  not  refuse ;  you  must  serve 
the  Lord  openly,  and  now  is  a  good  time  to  com- 
mence.' A  few  days  after,  at  the  table,  when  we  had 
just  had  considerable  amusement,  I  turned  to  Murray 
and  said,  'Eeturn  thanks.'  The  company  were  as- 
tonished, Murray  was  confounded,  and  raising  up  both 
hands,  he  said : 

"  'Come  Holy  Spirit,  heavenly  dove, 
With  all  thy  quickening  powers ; 
Come  shed  abroad  a  Savior's  love 
la  these  cold  hearts  of  ours.    Amen.' 

' '  The  ludicrous  scene  was  indescribable.  The  high- 
turbaned  lady  and  the  whole  company  were  in  a  roar 
of  laughter  as  Murray  left  the  room  and  ran  to  his 
bed-chamber.  I  followed,  and  found  him  in  a  perfect 
state  of  confusion,  and  said, '  Why,  Murray,  what  have 
you  been  doing?  When  I  ask  you  to  return  thanks, 
you  should  not  repeat  Watts'  hymns ;  besides,  if  Mr. 
Kirk  should  hear  you  repeat  Waits,  he  would  turn 
you  out  of  the  house.'  The  only  reply  he  gave  was, 
'  You  took  me  by  surprise,  but  I  will  try  and  do  bet- 
ter next  time,'  and  so  he  did.  After  preparing  the 
family  for  his  second  effort,  he  expressed  himself  with 
great  propriety.  In  less  than  a  month  he  took  his 
regular  turn,  and  before  the  end  of  the  second  month 


36  CONVERSION  AND   DECISION. 


Improvement.  New  studies. 


he  engaged  in  turn  in  conducting  family  worship,  and 
at  the  end  of  three  months  he  held  forth  in  prayer 
and  exhortation  at  the  social  meetings  in  Di-.  Spring's 
church.  Many  a  merry  laugh  Dr.  Murray  has  had  with 
me  in  relation  to  his  early  religious  services.  I  have 
never  been  acquainted  with  any  young  Christian  who 
advanced  so  rapidly  in  religious  graces  and  gifts.  And 
I  have  often  said  to  myself,  when  hearing  the  distin- 
guished Dr.  Murray  in  the  pulpit  or  on  the  platform, 
'  Is  this  the  Irish  boy  who  commenced  his  public  per- 
formances by  repeating  as  a  thanksgiving  at  the  table 
a  verse  of  a  hymn?'  His  manners  and  appearance 
improved  every  week,  and  before  the  month  of  June 
he  was  almost  a  new  man.  At  this  time  he  was  en- 
gaged in  a  printing  establishment  in  Pearl  Street.  His 
evenings  were  unoccupied,  and  he  was  almost  con- 
stantly in  my  room.  In  the  way  of  self-defense,  and 
also  for  his  good,  I  furnished  him  with  reading,  which 
he  eagerly  devoured.  I  had  discovered  in  him  talent, 
and  acting  on  the  hint  of  Miss  M'Leod,  that  he  should 
receive  an  education,  I  said  one  evening,  '  Murray, 
would  you  like  to  learn  a  little  Latin  this  winter?' 
'  Indac?e  I  would,'  and  his  eyes  sparkled  with  delight. 
Latin  books  were  procured,  and  he  commenced  his 
studies  with  vigor.  After  a  few  weeks  he  brought  a 
companion  with  him  from  the  same  office,  and  it  was 
arranged  that  I  should  give  them  an  hour  three  even- 
ings in  a  week,  and  before  the  first  of  June  Murray 
was  translating  Virgil,  and  had  a  good  knowledge  of 
Greek  grammar.  I  never  saw  a  man  take  so  nmch  de- 
light in  his  studies,  or  advance  so  rapidly.     Often  during 


CONVERSION  AND   DECISION.  87 

Mr.  Steele's  hopes.  Keviewa. 

the  winter  I  impressed  it  upon  bis  mind  that  be  should 
seek  a  liberal  education,  and  should  set  his  heart  upon 
the  ministry;  and  he  has  often  said  that  the  start 
which  I  gave  him  in  bis  studies  that  winter  influ- 
enced him  to  go  forward  in  bis  preparations  to  be- 
come a  minister  of  the  Gospel. 

"I  was  licensed  in  the  beginning  of  1822.  Young 
Murray  left  Mr.  Kirk's  family  about  the  same  time, 
and  I  heard  nothing  from  him  until  he  had  entered 
college.  I  have  watched  bis  progress  through  life 
with  much  interest;  have  frequently  visited  him  at 
Elizabethtown,  and  shared  his  hospitality  and  pleas- 
ant conversation ;  and  be  has  often  told  me  that  the 
winter  which  he  spent  in  Mr.  Kirk's  family  was  one 
of  the  brightest  spots  in  bis  memory,  and  that  be  look- 
ed back  upon  that  time  as  the  turning-point  in  his  his- 
tory. He  was  my  good  friend,  and  when  be  died  I 
found  another  link  broken  which  binds  me  to  this 
world." 

By  this  communication  from  Mr.  Steele  we  are  car- 
ried back  to  the  first  attempt  of  our  young  friend  to 
open  his  lips  in  the  performance  of  a  religious  service 
in  the  presence  of  others.  That  he  was  embarrassed, 
confused,  and  made  a  ridiculous  failure ;  that  he  speed- 
ily recovered,  resolved  at  once  to  do  better,  and  car- 
ried out  bis  resolution  with  decision  and  success,  are 
interesting  facts  to  record  in  the  early  history  of  this 
remarkable  man.  Had  he  been  weak  and  irresolute, 
the  first  failure  would  have  been  the  last  effort.  But 
be  rose  from  his  fall  the  stronger  in  heart,  and  in  the 
course  of  a  few  weeks  this  youth,  who  could  not  find 


88  COXVERSION   AND   DECISION. 

Eev.  Dr.  Proudfit.  Letter  to  him, 

words  to  use  in  thanking  God  for  his  daily  bread,  is 
leading  the  devotions  of  the  Church,  and  offering 
words  of  exhortation  to  the  people,  in  meetings  for 
conference  and  prayer,  in  one  of  the  most  prominent 
congregations  in  the  City  of  New  York.  This  was 
the  man,  though  yet  in  his  youth.  Here  was  the  self- 
reliance  that  had  already  enabled  him  to  embark  on 
the  world  alone,  and  now  it  was  shown  in  the  earnest, 
hopeful  spirit  with  which  he  assumed  the  new  respon- 
sibilities of  the  Christian  life. 

In  the  course  of  the  winter  of  1820  and  1821  he  came 
under  the  notice,  and  at  once  received  the  kind,  pater- 
nal attentions  of  the  Eev.  Alexander  Proudfit,  D.D., 
of  Salem,  Washington  County,  N.  Y.,  who  was  deliv- 
ering a  course  of  lectures  in  the  City  of  New  York  in 
the  place  of  Dr.  Mason,  who  had  been  compelled  by 
ill  health  to  retire  from  the  theological  chair. 

The  encouragement  which  Dr.  Proudfit  gave  him 
was  the  means  of  bringing  him  into  the  ministr}'',  as 
he  himself  most  feelingly  and  gratefully  affirms  in  aft- 
er years.  Among  Dr.  Proudfit's  letters,  the  following- 
letter  from  young  Mr.  Murray  was  found : 

"  New  York,  May  18th,  1821. 
"Eev.  Sir, — I  have  been  anxiously  waiting  for  your 
return  to  New  York,  on  your  way  to  Synod,  for  some 
time  past ;  but  having  learned  from  the  Eev.  Mr.  Boyd, 
who  stopped  here  on  his  way  to  Philadelphia,  that  you ' 
were  unable  to  attend  your  appointment  by  reason  of 
your  indisposition,  I  propose  writing  you  these  few 
lines,  at  the  same  time  begging  your  pardon  for  the 
trouble  they  may  put  you  to. 


CONVERSION  AND   DECISION.  39 

Young  Murray's  appeal.  Kev.  Dr.  Spring. 

"  Under  a  sense  of  my  own  un worthiness  and  of 
my  own  nothingness,  I  would  be  humbled  under  the 
mighty  hand  of  Jehovah,  seeing  that  He  is  exceeding 
all  my  hopes  and  disappointing  all  my  fears,  and  that 
His  everlasting  loving-kindness  has  thus  far  followed 
and  preserved  me.  I  would  cast  myself  and  all  my 
concerns  for  this  life,  and  for  that  which  is  to  come, 
upon  Him,  under  a  full  assurance  that  He,  on  whose 
arm  creation  hangs,  is  able  to  support  and  sustain  me. 

"Eeverend  sir,  I  am  conscious  of  the  trouble  I  have 
given  you  during  the  last  winter,  but  the  day  may  not 
be  far  distant  when,  by  the  help  of  God,  I  may  be  en- 
abled to  render  you  some  recompense  of  reward  for 
your  trouble. 

"  A  few  days  ago  I  had  an  interview  with  the  Eev. 
Dr.  Spring.  I  was  mentioning  to  him  the  great  ob- 
ject I  had  in  view ;  I  also  represented  to  him  my  cir- 
cumstances, and  my  incapability  of  obtaining  the  de- 
sired object  of  myself.  I  also  told  him  of  my  inter- 
course with  you  during  the  last  winter,  and  how  I  was 
kept  back  from  attending  your  lectures — all  which  I 
suppose  you  will  remember.  He  told  me,  if  I  would 
obtain  a  few  recommendatory  lines  from  you,  then  he 
thinks  he  would  be  able  to  obtain  by  subscription 
enough  money  to  support  me  and  carry  me  through 
my  studies.  My  object  in  writing  to  you  at  this  time 
is  to  obtain  information  from  you  what  to  do  under 
these  circumstances.  If  you  think  that  it  is  best  for 
me  to  accept  of  the  offer,  I  will  be  under  infinite  obli- 
gations to  you  for  a  few  lines  to  that  effect,  supposing 
that  you  are  satisfied  as  to  my  intentions  and  the  pu- 


40  CONVERSION  AND   DECISION. 

The  good  elders.  The  result. 

rity  of  my  motives.     If  you  think  it  best  for  me  not 
to  accept  the  offer,  you  will  please  let  me  know. 

"  Under  a  sense  of  my  obligations  to  you  for  the 
pains  you  have  taken  by  me,  I  wish  to  be  guided  and 
directed  solely  by  you  in  reference  to  the  object  in 
view.  Fearing  that  you  were  making  some  provision 
for  me,  I  would  enter  into  no  engagement  until  I  hear 
from  you.  I  still  remain  at  Mr.  Harper's,  and  board 
at  Mr.  Kirk's.  It  is  my  prayer  to  the  Almighty  God 
that  your  useful  labors  may  be  long  spared  to  His 
Church  and  to  His  people,  and  when  the  Lord  of  the 
harvest  shall  call  you  to  render  an  account  of  your 
stewardship,  that  you  may  be  found  having  your  wed- 
ding garment  on,  with  your  lamp  trimmed  and  bright- 
ly burning,  ready  to  enter  into  the  joy  of  our  Lord. 
Amen.     Believe  me  to  be  your  prayerful  servant, 

"Nicholas  Murray." 

The  result  of  this  application  is  evident  in  the  fact 
that  Mr.  Murray  was  soon  enabled  to  proceed  with  his 
studies  under  the  auspices  of  benevolent  individuals 
in  the  Brick  Church.  His  success  in  the  performance 
of  religious  exercises  had  already  attracted  their  atten- 
tion, and  convinced  them  that  he  ought  to  be  pre- 
pared for  the  sacred  ministry.  Two  of  the  elders,  Mr. 
Peter  Hawes  and  Mr.  Cunningham,  communicated  to 
him  the  wishes  of  his  friends  and  their  willingness  to 
bear  the  expenses  of  his  education. 

Many  long  years  afterward,  in  the  year  1860,  when 
the  50th  anniversary  of  Dr.  Spring's  settlement  in  the 
Brick  Church  was  celebrated,  Dr.  Murray  was  one  of 


CONVEKSIOK  AND   DECISION.  41 

A  speech.  Reminiscences. 

the  distinguislied  speakers,  and  lie  then  gave  utterance 
to  his  own  feelings  in  remembrance  of  his  early  rela- 
tions to  the  venerable  pastor  and  the  people  who  were 
the  friends  of  his  youth.  The  whole  speech  is  intense- 
ly interesting  in  this  very  place  r 

"  Mr.  Chairman, — We  may  have  a  great  many 
teachers,  but  we  can  have  but  one  Father ;  so  says 
the  Sacred  Eecord.  We  may  be  connected  with  many 
churches,  but  after  all  there  is  one  church  to  which 
our  affections  always  return,  as  the  needle,  which  has 
been  drawn  from  its  true  direction,  trembles  back  to 
the  pole.  I  have  been,  in  the  course  of  my  ministry, 
acquainted  with  many  ministers;  but  there  is  one  min- 
ister who  is  associated  with  every  thing  that  is  pre- 
cious in  my  youthful  years.  I  have  been  connected 
with  many  churches,  but  there  is  one  church,  in  the 
aisle  of  which  I  stood  when  I  devoted  myself  to  God, 
and  that  church  is  ever  before  me.  I  came  to  this 
cit}^,  a  mere  boy,  in  the  year  1818.  I  was,  through 
the  providence  of  God,  cast  into  a  Presbyterian  family 
that  worshiped  in  the  Murray  Street  Church,  under 
the  pastoral  care  of  Eev.  Dr.  Mason,  and  I  went  there 
occasionally  to  church.  Dr.  Mason  was  soon  removed 
to  the  presidency  of  Dickinson  College ;  and  on  his 
removal,  having  no  particular  attachment  there,  save 
to  hear  the  Gospel  from  the  lips  of  that  eloquent  man, 
I  passed  over  the  Park  to  the  old  Brick  Church. 
There  I  became  acquainted  with  a  few  J'oung  men, 
one  of  whom  still  lives,  a  pillar  of  a  church  in  Liver- 
pool.    We  went  into  the  Sabbath-school  together.     I 


42  CONVEKSION   AND   DECISION. 

Hearing  a  sennon  read.  Effect. 

was  not  then  a  professor  of  religion,  but  my  mind  be- 
came deeply  interested,  and  I  had  a  private  conversa- 
tion with  Dr.  Spring  in  reference  to  my  state  of  mind, 
which  was  then  in  a  very  doubting  state — indeed,  it 
was  wavering  as  to 'the  truth  of  Christianity  itself; 
and  he  talked  with  me  in  the  kindest  manner.  I 
called  again ;  and  I  attended  the  lectures  in  that  old 
white  lecture-room  in  the  evenings.  At  that  time 
this  beloved  man,  who  has  just  been  carried  out  to  the 
lecture-room  (Mr.  Holden'^),  was  an  elder.  One  even- 
ing Dr.  Spring  was  unwell,  and  that  man  arose  and 
read  a  sermon  which  I  remember  well.  That  sermon 
was  from  the  text,  '  His  feet  stand  on  slippery  places ; 
and  in  due  time  they  shall  slide' — a  sermon  in  one  of 
the  volumes  of  the  great  Jonathan  Edwards.  It  rivet- 
ed my  mind,  and  very  deeply  impressed  my  soul.  I 
went  again  to  see  the  pastor  of  the  Church,  and  he  in- 
vited me  to  meet  with  the  Session,  as  it  was  my  duty 
to  become  a  communicant  of  the  Church.  I  went  on 
a  certain  evening  to  meet  with  the  Session,  and  laid 
my  hand  upon  the  latch  of  the  door  in  order  to  enter. 
But  my  heart  failed  me,  and  I  turned  away.  And  for 
three  months  I  staid  away.  A  notice  was  given  again ; 
I  went  to  the  same  door  and  laid  my  finger  upon  the 
latch,  but  faltered,  and  was  turning  upon  my  heel  to 
go  away  again,  when  that  old  and  sainted  man.  Father 
Cunningham,  came  behind  me,  laid  his  hand  upon  the 
latch,  opened  the  door,  and  said,  'Walk  in,  young 
man ;'  and,  almost  against  my  will,  I  was  ushered  into 
*  Alluding  to  the  fact  of  Mr.  Iloldcn  having  fainted  during  the  ex- 


CONVERSION  AND  DECISION.  43 

Baptized  The  elders  again. 

the  room,  where  I  went  through  such  an  examination 
as  was  usually  there  given  with  a  very  faint  heart. 
The  following  Sabbath  I  was  received  into  the  Church. 
I  was  baptized  by  Eev.  Dr.  Spring  in  the  name  of  the 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost.  By  him  I  was  led,  in 
the  private  interviews  to  which  I  have  alluded,  to 
Christ ;  under  his  ministry  I  devoted  myself  to  God ; 
and  by  his  hand  I  was  baptized  and  received  into  the 
Church.  I  went  about  my  business.  Six  or  eight 
months  had  passed  away,  when,  on  a  certain  after- 
noon, two  individuals  came  into  the  office  in  which  I 
was  employed :  one  was  Father  Cunningham,  and  the 
other  was  another  sainted  elder  of  this  Church,  years 
ago  gone  to  rest — Peter  Hawes.  They  asked  me, 
after  a  little  introduction,  if  I  thought  of  devoting 
myself  to  the  ministry.  I  told  them,  No ;  that  the 
thought  had  not  entered  my  mind,  and  that  there  were 
other  courses  marked  out  before  me.  They  told  me 
to  consider  the  subject,  and  that  they  would  call  to  see 
me  again.  They  saw  me  again :  on  a  certain  evening 
I  had  another  conversation  with  them  in  the  lecture- 
room,  and  the  result  was  that  in  a  few  months  more  I 
was  in  a  course  of  preparation  for  the  ministry,  under 
the  care  of  this  Church,  and  by  advice  of  its  pastor ; 
and  from  that  day  unto  this  day,  the  Lord  has  kept 
me.  Therefore  I  ought  and  must  feel  a  great  venera- 
tion for  this  beloved  man,  and  a  great  veneration  for 
the  old  Brick  Church.  I  look  around  me  this  evening, 
and  I  find  that  many  whose  names  have  been  read  by 
our  beloved  Holden  are  absent.  John  Adams  is  gone ; 
and  Mr.  Lockwood,  and  Peter  Hawes,  and  Mr.  Cun- 


44  CONVERSION  AND   DECISION. 

The  old  men.  A  minister  of  New  York. 

ningham,  and  Mr. Phelps,  and  Mr.  De  Forest — all  gone! 
Mr.  Fisher  is  yet  living ;  Mr.  Havens  is  gone ;  Mr. 
Couch  yet  lives ;  Mr.  Holden  has  been  here  to-night ; 
Halsey,  too,  is  gone.  Those  men  I  knew  as  a  boy; 
they  were  pillars  of  the  Church — of  the  old  house; 
they  have  fallen,  but  the  main  pillar  remains. 

"  It  is  one  thing,  Mr.  Chairman,  to  be  a  minister  in 
New  York,  and  quite  another  thing  to  be  a  minister 
o/"New  York.  Almost  any  body,  with  ordinary  talent, 
could  be  a  minister  in  New  York :  John  Smith  could 
be  a  minister  in  New  York — why,  I  myself  could  be 
that ;  but  it  is  a  very  different  thing  to  be  a  minister 
of  New  York.  A  minister  m  New  York  may  be  a 
very  small  minister  indeed,  and  his  ministrations  may 
be  very  limited ;  but  a  minister  of  New  York  must  be 
every  inch  a  man.  And  this  venerable  man  has  been 
a  minister  of  New  York ;  his  hand  for  fifty  years  has 
been  upon  every  thing  that  has  been  good  here.  What 
great  and  good  enterprise  has  arisen  here  in  this  city 
for  fifty  years  with  which  his  name  has  not  been  con- 
nected? Is  it  the  Bible  Society?  Is  it  the  American 
Tract  Society  ?  Is  it  any  of  our  great  missionary  so- 
cieties ?  And  if  we  go  from  our  Church  to  our  na- 
tional societies,  is  it  the  American  Board?  Is  it  our 
own  Presbyterian  Board?  Pray  tell  me  what  it  is 
that  has  arisen  within  the  last  fifty  years  in  this  city 
or  in  this  land  to  bless  the  world,  with  which  this  be- 
loved man  has  not  been  connected?  He  has  been  a 
minister,  not  only  in  and  of  New  York,  but  he  has 
been  a  minister  of  the  world.  His  name  is  known  in 
Ireland,  and  in  Scotland,  and  in  England,  almost  as 


CONVERSION   AND   DECISION.  45 

Half  a  century.  Venerable  man. 

well  as  it  is  known  in  the  city  of  New  York.  His 
works  praise  him  in  the  gate,  and  in  every  gate  in  the 
world.  He  has  been  a  minister  here,  and  a  minister 
at  the  same  time  to  our  common  humanity.  Hence 
we  should  honor  and  imitate  him.  Not  merely  in  the 
way  that  his  venerable  classmate  (Dr.  Humphrey)  has 
stated,  has  he  been  a  blessing,  but  in  many  other  ways. 
He  has  been  here  for  fifty  years ;  the  winds  have  beat- 
en about  him,  and  the  floods  have  come  up  around 
him,  but  he  has  been  as  a  pillar  unmoved.  Why  ? 
Because,  as  a  minister  of  Christ,  as  a  preacher  of  the 
Gospel,  he  has  been  founded  on  the  Eock.  Others 
have  fallen  and  have  been  swept  away,  but  he  has  re- 
mained strong  and  immovable  as  the  mountains  that 
surrounded  Jerusalem.  He  has  stood  firm.  Changes 
have  passed  over  other  churches  and  other  men ;  clouds 
have  passed  over  the  characters  of  others,  but  the  sun 
of  this  brother  has  shone  clearly,  summer  and  winter, 
for  the  last  fifty  years,  and  has  been  growing  brighter, 
and  brighter,  and  brighter,  even  unto  the  perfect  day. 
Fifty  years  have  passed  over  him,  and  where  in  this 
city,  or  where  in  this  land,  is  the  individual  that  can 
rise  up  and  accuse  him  of  saying  any  thing  or  doing 
any  thing  unworthy  of  his  position  as  a  Presbyterian 
minister  of  the  Gospel  ?  Why,  sir,  in  the  presence  of 
such  a  man  I  feel  very  much  as  one  feels  in  one  of 
those  old  cathedrals — Westminster,  for  instance — go- 
ing around  that  old  chapel  of  Henry  YII. ;  or,  stand- 
ing under  the  shadow  of  those  old  trees  in  Hyde  Park. 
I«venerate  those  things ;  I  look  upon  them  with  ven- 
eration ;    and  we  must  venerate  still  more  the  man 


46  CONVERSION  AND  DECISION. 

Prince  of  preachers.  Expectations. 

who,  for  fifty  years,  has  gone  on  among  the  same  peo- 
ple, preaching  to  them  the  truth,  breaking  to  them  the 
bread  of  life — without  a  stain  upon  his  character,  and 
going  down,  quietly,  the  hill  of  life  amid  the  admira- 
tion of  those  to  whom  he  has  so  long  ministered. 
Surely  we  must  venerate  such  a  man  as  that.  But 
not  in  this  way  alone  has  he  been  a  minister  of  New 
York.  He  has  been  a  constant  preacher,  and,  as  I 
heard  John  Breckinridge  say  himself,  one  of  the  most 
impressive  and  eloquent  men  of  his  day  (and  I  repeat 
it  now  in  his  own  presence),  the  'prince  of  preachers.' 
He  has  been  not  only  a  constant  preacher,  but  he  has 
been  an  industrious,  laborious,  and  active  man.  He 
has  made  the  most  diligent  preparation  for  the  pulpit. 
He  has  brought  out  of  his  treasures  things  new  and 
old,  and  has  never  drawn  from  the  top  of  his  mind,  as 
a  great  many  individuals  do  whose  minds,  unlike  milk, 
make  no  cream.  He  gave  them  beaten  oil  from  the 
sanctuary ;  and  in  this  respect,  as  well  as  in  every  other, 
he  stands  up  before  the  youthful  ministry  of  this  land 
as  a  man  every  way  worthy  of  their  imitation.  If  I, 
on  a  future  occasion,  should  have  any  thing  to  say  in 
reference  to  this  man  when  his  work  is  ended,  I  should 
hold  him  up  to  the  ministry  of  this  country  as  every 
way  worthy  of  their  respect  and  admiration.  The 
course  which  he  has  pursued  has  made  a  man  of  him ; 
and  it  would  have  made  a  man  of  an  individual  far 
less  endowed  by  nature  than  he  is.  But  the  evening 
is  becoming  late.  I  feel  that,  as  a  son  of  this  Church, 
I  could  not  have  said  less  than  I  have  said. 

"  There  is  one  thing,  however,  that  fills  our  hearts 


CONVERSION  AND  DECISION.  47 

Takes  the  offered  aid.  Aunt  Betsy. 

with  mourning  this  evening,  and  that  is,  that  the  part- 
ner of  his  life  should  be  absent  from  this  ovation.  But 
she  has  gone  to  a  better  and  a  higher  world ;  and  when 
her  venerable  partner  goes  the  way  which  she  has  trod 
before  him,  if  we  live  we  shall  strive  to  follow  him  to 
his  resting-place,  good  men  shall  carry  him  to  his  buri- 
al, and  long  after  his  sun  shall  have  set  in  the  west 
will  its  heavenly  light  shine  on  the  high  places  of  our 
Zion." 

Eeturning  to  our  narrative,  we  find  that  Mr.  Mur- 
ray was  not  reluctant  to  avail  himself  of  the  aid  pro- 
posed. It  was  just  what  he  desired,  as  it  gave  him 
the  opportunity  of  obtaining  an  education,  and  he 
seized  upon  it  with  avidity.  Even  while  as  yet  the 
way  was  not  open,  he  was  improving  every  leisure 
hour  in  the  acquisition  of  classical  learning,  hoping 
against  hope  that  he  might  yet  find  his  way  into  the 
pulpit.  In  the  circle  of  young  Christians  with  whom 
he  was  now  brought  into  contact  there  were  some  who 
have  since  been  distinguished  in  various  public  and 
private  walks  of  life.  His  associations  were  the  hap- 
piest and  most  useful.  With  them  he  mingled  in  the 
regular  meetings  for  prayer  in  the  church ;  and  for 
their  own  improvement,  as  well  as  to  do  good  to  oth- 
ers, they  joined  in  private  prayer-meetings  among  the 
poor.     One  of  these  meetings  he  describes : 

MEETING  AT  AUNT  BETSY'S. 

"  It  was  my  first  visit  to  the  prayet-meeting  at  Ful- 
ton Street,  where  God  has  so  signally  manifested  His 


48  CONVERSION  AND  DECISION. 

Prayer-meeting.  Young  ladies. 

presence.  The  room  on  the  first  story  was  full,  and  I 
made  mj  way  up  to  that  on  the  second.  I  found  a 
seat  in  the  middle  of  the  room,  from  which  I  had  a 
good  view  of  the  persons  around  the  pulpit,  and  could 
look  out  of  the  windows  in  its  rear.  And  as  I  glanced 
upon  the  high  brick  stores  in  Ann  Street,  the  memo- 
ries of  other  days  rushed  in  upon  me.  Where  those 
brick  stores  now  rise,  upward  of  thirty  years  ago 
there  stood  some  wooden  buildings  of  very  lowly  pre- 
tensions. In  an  upper  room  of  one  of  them  there 
dwelt  an  old  colored  woman,  then  widely  known  as 
Aunt  Betsy,  or  Sarah — which,  I  now  forget.  She  was 
very  old,  and  very  feeble,  and  remarkably  pious.  To 
what  church  she  belonged  I  do  not  remember,  nor  is 
it  necessary  to  my  present  purpose  to  know.  She  was 
dependent  upon  the  hand  of  charity  for  her  daily 
bread ;  nor  was  she  neglected.  Some  ladies,  not  now 
unknown  in  the  religious  circles  of  New  York,  were 
sent  to  her  room  by  their  parents  on  their  first  er- 
rands of  mercy  to  the  poor.  And  some  3'oung  men, 
mostly  from  the  Presbyterian  and  Methodist  Church- 
es, held  a  prayer-meeting  in  her  room  on  each  Sabbath 
afternoon,  as  she  was  too  infirm  to  attend  on  any  of 
the  public  means  of  grace.  She  lay  on  her  lowly  bed 
during  these  meetings  of  prayer ;  and,  as  we  retired, 
she  took  each  of  us  by  the  hand,  and  gave  us  her  part- 
ing blessing. 

"  That  meeting  in  the  upper  room  of  that  poor  dis- 
ciple had  passed  away  from  my  recollection,  although 
it  was  in  it  I  offered  the  first  prayer  I  ever  uttered  in 
the  hearing  of  man.     But  now,  in  a  meeting  for  pray- 


CONVEKSION   AND   DECISION.  49 


Merchant  prince. ^^ Tl.e  young  men. 

er,  and  in  sight  of  the  very  place,  it  came  up  in  all  its 
freshness  before  me.  The  old  buildings  took  the  place 
of  the  lofty  stores.  I  could  go  round  the  room  of 
Aunt  Betsy,  and  count  its  chairs,  and  almost  talk  with 
the  young  men  that  sat  on  them.  I  could  hear  them 
pray,  and  see  them  retire,  each  receiving  in  his  turn 
the  blessings  of  the  '  aged  disciple.'  And  as  I  was 
busy  with  my  own  thoughts,  scarcely  hearing  the  sing- 
ing and  praying  that  occupied  all  in  the  room,  I  was 
waked  from  my  revery  by  a  voice  from  behind  me. 
It  was  that  of  a  merchant  exhorting  his  brother  mer- 
chants to  a  deeper  interest  and  a  warmer  zeal  in  the 
salvation  of  men.  As  the  voice  seemed  familiar,  I 
turned  round  to  see  who  was  the  fervid  and  fluent 
speaker.  He  is  now  one  of  the  princely  merchants  of 
New  York,  but  in  his  youth  he  was  one  of  the  young 
men  who  met  for  prayer  in  the  room  of  Aunt  Betsy, 
and  his  wife  was  one  of  the  little  girls  who,  as  the  ra- 
vens did  to  Elijah,  carried  to  her  daily  food ! 

"  Those  young  men  were  not  the  sons  of  wealth ; 
if  not  poor,  they  supplied  their  own  resources  by  their 
daily  employment,  and  all  of  them  were  too  young  to 
have  made  for  themselves  position  or  character.  They 
were  Sabbath-school  teachers,  most  of  them  were  com- 
municants of  churches,  and  all  of  them  professed  to 
love  the  Bible,  and  the  place  where  prayer  was  wont 
to  be  made.  And  what  has  become  of  the  young  men 
that  met  weekly  in  the  room  of  Aunt  Betsy  ?  Of  the 
subsequent  history  of  some  of  them  I  have  no  knowl- 
edge. It  is  to  be  hoped  that,  having  commenced 
aright,  they  held  on  the  even  tenor  of  their  way— that 

C 


50  CONVERSION   AND   DECISION. 

What  now  ?  Tlieir  progress. 

they  have  finished  their  course  with  joy,  or  yet  live  to 
be  useful.  But  as  to  others  of  them  my  knowledge 
is  distinct  and  full. 

"  One  of  them  rose  to  eminence  as  an  accomplished 
writer  and  editor.  He  became  an  honorable  politi- 
cian, and  for  years  has  served  his  country  and  the 
cause  of  Protestantism  with  distinction  as  a  minister 
at  a  foreign  court. 

"  Another  of  them  is  an  ex-mayor  of  the  city  of 
New  York,  whose  hand  has  never  been  withheld  from 
any  work  of  religion  or  philanthropy. 

"Another  is  the  honored  partner  of  one  of  the 
largest  publishing  houses  of  the  city  of  his  residence. 

"  Another  of  them  has  held  on  the  even  tenor  of 
his  way ;  has  risen  to  eminence  as  a  merchant,  has  ac- 
quired a  large  fortune,  and  is  a  pillar  in  one  of  the 
most  important  congregations  and  one  of  the  best 
known  in  the  British  Isles. 

"  Another  was  the  merchant  behind  me  in  the  room 
of  prayer,  so  affectionately  addressing  the  audience, 
and  now  the  head  of  one  of  the  largest  mercantile 
houses  of  the  Union. 

"  Another  is  also  a  well-known  merchant  of  New 
York,  who  has  a  heart  for  every  good  work,  and  who 
has  never  withdrawn  his  hand  from  the  plow. 

"  Another  is  a  useful  minister  in  the  Western  States, 
whose  labors  have  been  eminently  blessed  in  turning 
many  to  righteousness. 

"  Two  others,  who  gave  fair  promise  of  usefulness 
in  the  more  secluded  walks  of  life,  were  early  re- 
moved to  their  home  in  heaven.     I  was  myself  among 


CONVERSION  AND   DECISION.  51 

The  contrast.  A  felon  in  prison. 

the  youngest  of  the  company,  and,  when  I  was  first 
invited  to  join  the  circle  in  the  room  of  Aunt  Betsy, 
was  not  a  communicant  of  the  Church. 

"  On  a  subsequent  day  I  made  the  above  statement 
at  the  prayer-meeting  in  Fulton  Street,  and  based  upon 
it  an  appeal  to  young  men  to  make  the  religion  of 
Christ  the  law  and  the  rule  of  their  life ;  and  as  they 
valued  their  prosperity  in  this  life  and  the  life  to  come, 
not  to  neglect  the  place  of  prayer. 

"  When  I  sat  down,  a  man  rose  in  another  part  of 
the  room,  his  tremulous  accents  showing  the  feelings 
that  were  within  him.  '  I  have,'  said  he,  '  recently  vis- 
ited the  prison  at  Sing  Sing.  As  I  went  from  cell  to 
cell,  I  met  with  an  old  man  who  told  me  a  very  dif- 
ferent story  from  that  just  narrated.  He  said  that 
when  young  he  was  one  of  a  company  of  young  men 
who  formed  an  infidel  club,  and  who  met  once  a  week 
for  talking  infidelity,  gambling,  and  drinking,  not  very 
far  from  the  upper  room  of  Aunt  Betsy ;  and  I  was 
shocked  as  he  told  me  of  the  end  to  which  his  com- 
panions came.  One,  said  he,  died  by  his  own  hand ; 
another  by  the  hand  of  violence;  some  in  state  pris- 
on ;  some  of  delirium  tremens  ;  and,  as  far  as  I  know, 
I  am  the  only  one  of  them  surviving ;  and  here  am  I 
in  the  garb,  and  daily  at  the  work  of  a  felon.'  And 
he  also  ended  his  narrative  with  a  most  striking  and 
touching  appeal  to  young  men  to  remember  their  Cre- 
ator in  the  days  of  their  youth. 

"  The  contrast  which  the  two  narratives  presented 
was  most  striking.  All  felt  it  to  be  so.  No  doubt 
the  room  of  Aunt  Betsy  and  the  gambliug-hcll  were 


52  CONVERSION   AND   DECISION. 

Recollectiuns.  The  Harper  Brotbew. 

very  differently  furnished.  The  companies  that  met 
in  each  were  very  different  in  character,  and  in  their 
governing  objects  and  principles.  And  their  end  was 
very  different.  Religion  has  the  promise  of  the  life 
which  now  is  and  of  that  which  is  to  come.  Nor  are 
there  any  youth  more  likely  to  become  men  than  those 
who  first  seek  the  kingdom  of  heaven  and  its  right- 
eousness. Even  now  do  I  feel  the  warm  pressure  of 
the  hand  of  Aunt  Betsy,  although  for  thirty  or  more 
years  she  has  been  with  her  Lord ;  and  it  may  be  that 
the  blessings  which  have  followed  those  who  met  for 
prayer  in  her  room  have  been  in  answer  to  her  bene- 
dictions and  prayers.  True  religion,  early  embraced, 
is  a  great  element  of  success,  even  as  to  the  life  that 
now  is." 

He  was  still  an  apprentice  to  the  Harpers,  and  his 
time  and  services  were  now  more  valuable  to  them 
than  they  had  been  while  he  was  learning  the  busi- 
ness. But  when  he  sought  their  counsel  and  aid  in 
reference  to  a  change  in  his  whole  plan  of  life,  they 
cheerfully  gave  him  the  remainder  of  his  time,  and 
bid  him  God-speed  in  his  new  career.  They  stood  in 
the  relation  of  parents  or  elder  brothers  to  him — who 
had  come  to  them  when  he  was  without  friends  or 
home — and  the  friendship  then  formed  with  the  boy 
continued,  without  abatement,  so  long  as  he  lived. 
They  became,  in  subsequent  years,  the  publishers  of 
his  works,  and  the  intercourse  between  him  and  them 
was  always  the  most  genial  and  delightful. 

Under  the  auspices  of  the  kind  friends  in  the  Brick 
Church  who  had  offered  to  sustain  him  in  his  studies, 


CONVERSION  AND   DECISION.  53 

Goea  to  Amherst.  Dr.  Griffin. 

he  went  in  the  fall  of  1821  to  Amherst  Academy,  in 
Massachusetts,  where  he  pursued  his  studies  in  prepa- 
ration for  college  under  the  instruction  of  Gerard  Hal- 
leck,  Esq.,  afterward  the  distinguished  editor  of  the 
Journal  of  Commerce^  in  New  York. 

Of  his  brief  residence  here  we  have  little  or  no 
knowledge  beyond  the  obvious  fact  that  he  made  rap- 
id, indeed  astonishing  progress  in  his  preparatory  stud- 
ies. He  was  also  engaged  in  the  advancement  of  the 
cause  of  his  Master,  and  extending  his  views  to  the 
distant  and  destitute  in  heathen  lands.  Among  his 
old  letters  is  one  from  Levi  Chamberlain,  for  the  Treas- 
urer of  the  American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  writ- 
ten to  Mr.  Nicholas  Murray,  as  one  of  a  committee  of 
students  who  were  engaged  in  raising  money  to  edu- 
cate a  heathen  boy  in  Ceylon  by  the  name  of  Gerard 
Halleck,  which  was  the  name  of  the  principal  of  the 
academy. 

He  remained  at  Amherst  but  three  fourths  of  a  year, 
and  then  we  find  him  writing  to  Eev.  Dr.  Griffin,  the 
president  of  Williams  College,  and  making  inquiries 
as  to  the  probabilities  of  his  being  admitted  with  his 
present  amount  of  classical  knowledge.  To  these  in- 
quiries the  president  replies : 

"Williams  College,  August  10,  1822. 

"Dear  Sir, — I  received  your  letter  of  July  22d, 
but  various  causes  have  prevented  me  from  answering 
it  before.  I  think  you  may  venture  to  come  to  Wil- 
liamstown  at  Commencement,  or  as  soon  as  you  please, 
with  a  view  to  enter  the  next  Freshman  class,  and  to 


54  CONVERSION  AND   DECISION. 

Invited  to  Williama.  Expenses. 

make  up  your  deficiencies  in  tlie  fall  and  winter  vaca- 
tions. The  expenses  will  not  exceed  what  was  men- 
tioned in  my  letter  to  Dr.  Spring. 

"Affectionately  yours, 

"  E.  D.  Griffin. 

"Mr.  Nicholas  Murray,  Amherst,  Massachusetts." 


IN   COLLEGE.  55 


Enters  college.  Seeks  advice. 


CHAPTER  ni. 

He  enters  Williams  College,  Mass.— Letter  to  Rev.  Dr.  Proudfit.— 
His  Answer. — Rapid  mental  Progress. — College  Exercises. — Writ- 
ing for  the  Newspapers. — Oration  on  July  4tli. — Dr.  Griffin  predicts 
that  he  will  be  a  distinguished  Man. — Letter  from  Professor  Albert 
Hopkins. — Letter  from  Chester  Dewey,  LL.D. 

In  the  autumn  of  1822  lie  entered  the  Freshman 
class  of  Williams  College,  in  Williamstown,  Massa- 
chusetts. The  Rev.  Dr.  GrrifHn  was  then  its  president, 
and  in  the  zenith  of  his  power  and  fame  as  the  prince 
of  American  preachers ;  a  man  to  mate  the  deepest 
impress  of  his  own  characteristics  upon  the  young 
men  who  sat  at  his  feet.  Unrivaled  as  a  pulpit  ora- 
tor, severe  as  a  critic,  and  punctilious  in  all  the  details 
of  manner  that  mark  the  Christian  gentleman,  Dr. 
Griffin  was  just  the  man  into  whose  hands  it  was  em- 
inently desirable  that  Mr.  Murray  should  fall.  Thus 
far  we  have  noticed  that  each  step  of  the  young  man's 
course  has  been  guided  by  peculiarly  kind  providen- 
ces, but  none  were  more  favorable  than  that  which 
threw  him  under  the  social,  religious,  and  intellectual 
training  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Griffin. 

In  his  Sophomore  year  he  writes  to  his  friend  and 
counselor,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Proudfit,  the  following  letter : 

"Williams  College,  December  7th. 

"  Rev.  and  dear  Sir, — Notwithstanding  the  time 
that  has  elapsed  since  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing 


56  IN  COLLEGE. 


Letter  to  Dr.  Vroudfit.  High  1io|h«. 

you,  the  recollection  of  the  favors  you  so  generously 
conferred  upon  me,  and  of  the  direction  and  impulse 
you  gave  to  my  hopes  and  desires  when  I  had  none  to 
direct  me,  recall  you  to  my  mind  with  that  affection  and 
tenderness  with  which  a  son  reviews  the  favors  of  a 
kind  father.  How  can  I  but  dwell  with  grateful  rec- 
ollections on  the  memory  of  him  who  is  my  chief  ben- 
efactor ;  who  has,  by  his  counsel  and  influence,  thus 
far  enabled  me  to  pursue  my  literary  course  in  prep- 
aration for  the  Gospel  ministry  ?  If  the  world  shall 
ever  gain  any  thing  by  my  labors — if  the  glory  of  the 
Church  shall  ever  be  enhanced  through  my  instru- 
mentality— if  I  ever  shall  be  the  humble  instrument 
of  bringing  a  son  or  daughter  of  Adam  home  to  glo- 
ry, from  their  heavenly  habitation  they  will  doubtless 
look  upon  you  as  the  great  first  cause  of  their  exalta- 
tion. Since,  therefore,  I  owe  all  that  I  am  in  my  pres- 
ent pursuits  to  your  kindness  and  Christian  philan- 
thropy, how  can  I  but  look  upon  you  as  a  father  and 
friend?  As  such,  sir,  I  cherish  your  memory;  as 
such  I  shall  always  consider  you. 

"  Since  the  fall  of  1822  I  have  been  pursuing  my 
studies  under  the  care  of  Dr.  Spring's  Session,  and  I 
am  at  present  a  member  of  the  Sophomore  class  in  this 
college.  I  have  long  desired  to  see  you,  that  I  might 
make  known  to  you  my  feelings  and  desires  respect- 
ing the  course  I  am  to  pursue  in  after  life. .  The  time 
is  yet  distant,  it  is  true,  when  I  shall  be  prepared  to  go 
forth  into  the  vineyard,  but,  notwithstanding,  I  want 
to  determine  on  some  course,  and  to  have  my  eye  fixed 
on  that  through  all  my  research.     It  is  my  desire  to 


IN  COLLEGE.  57 


'I'he  future.  Visit  proposed. 

become  a  missionary ;  but  whether  it  is  my  duty  to 
spend  my  life  among  those  that  gave  me  existence, 
and  whom  I  can  call,  as  Paul  did  the  Hebrews,  my 
kinsmen  according  to  the  flesh,  or  devote  my  life  to 
foreign  missions  among  the  heathen,  I  have  not  as  yet 
determined.  On  this  point,  together  with  some  oth- 
ers which  I  will  not  now  mention,  I  want  to  consult 
you.  I  know  that  I  can  make  my  feelings  known  to 
you  better  than  I  can  to  any  other  person;  and  you, 
knowing  better  than  any  other  person  the  history  of 
my  past  life,  are  best  calculated  to  judge  of  my  views 
and  motives. 

"I  have  thought,  during  the  term  which  is  now 
nearly  at  a  close,  that,  as  I  should  have  nothing  to 
do  next  vacation,  which  is  six  weeks  long,  and  as  Sa- 
lem is  but  forty  miles  from  this  place,  I  would  call  to 
see  you,  to  ask  your  counsel  on  these  interesting  top- 
ics ;  but,  fearing  I  might  be  disappointed  in  not  finding 
you  at  home,  I  have  taken  the  liberty  of  writing  to 
you.  If,  sir,  you  would  let  me  know  what  part  of  the 
vacation  I  would  find  you  at  home  and  at  leisure,  I 
will  gladly  avail  myself  of  the  opportunity  of  calling 
on  you. 

"  Your  ever  obliged  friend  and  servant, 

"Nicholas  Murray. 

"N.B. — Vacation  commences  1st  of  January. 

"Rev.  Dr.  Alex.  Proudfit." 

C2 


58  IN   COLLEGE. 


Dr.  Proudfit's  reply. 


Reply  from  the  Rev.  Dr.  Proudfit. 

"Salem,  December  13th,  1823. 

"  My  truly  esteemed  young  Friend, — I  received 
yours  dated  7th  instant,  and  rejoice  that  the  Lord  has 
so  far  prospered  you  in  your  exertions  for  obtaining 
an  education  for  the  important  work  of  the  ministr}'-. 
Set  up  your  Ebenezer,  saying, '  Hitherto  hath  the  Lord 
helped  me,'  and  remember  that  His  arm  is  not  at  all 
shortened,  nor  His  ear  heavy,  nor  His  fullness  dimin- 
ished, nor  His  compassion  to  our  wants  lessened.  He 
is  the  same  yesterday,  and  to-day,  and  forever;  al- 
ways ready  to  guide  us  in  darkness,  and  support  us  in 
difiiculty,  and  supply  us  in  want,  and  sympathize  with 
us  in  our  distresses  and  disappointments.  In  short, 
He  is  infinitely  able  to  do  in  us  and  for  us  exceeding- 
ly abundantly  beyond  what  we  can  ask  or  conceive, 
and,  glory  to  His  name.  He  is  as  able  as  He  is  willing. 
Trust,  then,  in  the  Lord  forever ;  trust  Him  for  bring- 
ing you  into  His  vineyard,  and  trust  Him  for  direct- 
ing you  what  work  in  the  vinej^ard  He  wishes  you  to 
perform;  whether  to  improve  some  uncultivated  re- 
gion, or  whether  to  '  dig  around,'  and  prune,  and  culti- 
vate those  trees  of  righteousness  which  His  own  right 
hand  hath  planted.  If  my  feeble  counsels  have  been 
in  the  least  degree  conducive  to  your  encouragement 
in  the  prosecution  of  study  for  the  sacred  ministry,' 
give  God  the  glory,  and  be  assured  that  it  will  afford 
unfeigned  delight  to  be  a  farther  instrument  of  conso- 
lation to  you.  Therefore,  come  immediately  to  my 
house,  and  it  will  afford  me  real  pleasure  to  see  and 


IN   COLLEGE.  59 


Letter  from  Mr.  Nobla  Reminiscence. 

entertain  you.  If  I  should  be  absent,  make  yourself 
known  unto  Mrs.  Proudlit,  and  remain  with  her  until 
I  may  return.  My  house  is  always  open  to  receive  fel- 
low-pilgrims in  their  journey  toward  Zion,  and  espe- 
cially for  the  entertainment  of  those  whose  attention 
is  directed  to  the  delightful  employment  of  winning 
souls  unto  Christ.  In  expectation  of  seeing  you  short- 
ly, and  with  earnest  prayer  for  your  prosperity  in  your 
important  pursuit,  I  remain  your  brother  in  the  faith 
of  the  divinely  loving  and  lovely  Savior, 

"Alexr.  Proudfit. 

"  Mr.  N.  Murray." 

One  who  was  a  fellow-student  with  him  then,  writes 
of  him  now : 

"  Schaghticoke,  N.  Y.,  April  28, 1862. 
"  It  is  now  nearly  forty  years  since  I  first  met  him, 
yet  I  have  a  very  distinct  recollection  of  the  circum- 
stances of  our  meeting — of  his  personal  appearance,  and 
the  impression  he  made  upon  my  mind.  I  occupied 
my  room  at  Williams  a  few  days  before  the  opening 
of  the  term  in  the  autumn  of  1822.  One  evening,  I 
'think  the  one  before  the  term  opened,  a  stranger  call- 
ed at  my  room  and  introduced  himself  as  Nicholas 
Murray,  from  New  York.  I  was  probably  the  first 
person  in  college  upon  whom  he  called ;  he  had  come 
to  join  the  class  to  which  I  had  been  previously  ad- 
mitted. I  was  enabled  to  render  him  some  assistance 
in  making  necessary  arrangements  for  commencing 
study.  I  know  of  no  other  reason  than  the  simple 
fact  just  alluded  to  that  could  have  led  him  to  cher- 


60  IN   COLLEGE. 


First  appearance.  Model  student. 

isli  such  an  interest  in  my  behalf,  as  he  always  man- 
ifested both  while  in  college  and  in  all  subsequent 
life. 

"  His  first  appearance  was  very  prepossessing,  and 
made  a  marked  impression  upon  me.  His  counte- 
nance was  fresh  and  ruddy,  his  hair  jet  black,  his 
manners  easy  and  winning;  his  whole  bearing  was 
that  of  a  Christian  gentleman  who  had  mingled  with 
the  world  more  than  most  of  his  age,  and  had  profit- 
ed by  the  advantages  enjoyed.  His  knowledge  of 
men  and  things  generally  was  greater  than  that  of 
most  of  our  classmates.  He  was  gifted  also  in  an  un- 
common degree  with  conversational  powers. 

"  He  had  not  enjoyed  as  full  advantages  as  most  of 
his  classmates  in  the  studies  preparatory  to  entering 
college.  This  was  a  disadvantage  to  him  throughout 
the  whole  course,  yet  in  scholarship  he  always  ranked 
well.  In  some  respects  he  had  few,  if  any  superiors, 
especially  as  a  writer  and  debater. 

"  From  the  first  he  was  a  model  of  diligence  and 
close  application  to  study.  He  always  acquitted  him- 
self well.  Seldom,  if  ever,  did  the  hour  of  recitation 
find  him  unprepared.  Several  times  during  our  course 
he  was  selected  to  represent  the  class  on  public  oc- 
casions. In  our  Sophomore  year  he  delivered  the  an- 
nual oration  before  the  college  on  the  anniversary  of 
our  National  Independence. 

"  When  our  college  life  ended  I  think  all  the  class 
felt  that  one  so  gifted  by  Nature  as  he  was,  and  one 
who  loved  study  as  he  did,  would  surely  make  his 
mark  in  the  world.     His  subsequent  life  never  disap- 


IN   COLLEGE.  61 


Commonplace  book.  4tli  of  July. 

pointed  the  expectations  thus  early  entertained  in  ref- 
erence to  him. 

"  It  has  ever  been  a  source  of  pleasure  to  me  to  re- 
flect that  I  was  permitted  for  so  long  a  time  to  be  on 
terms  of  intimacy,  and  daily  associated  in  study  with 
one  of  such  genial  feelings,  and  who  proved  himself 
such  a  model  of  diligence  and  successful  effort  in  the 
Master's  service. 

"  Very  respectfully  yours,  J.  H.  Noble." 

The  rapid  progress  of  Mr.  Murray's  mind  has  been 
revealed  in  his  religious  exercises  before  entering  upon 
a  course  of  study ;  but  the  rush  which  he  made  to- 
ward the  highest  standard  of  excellence  the  moment 
that  he  began  to  devote  his  energies  to  the  pursuit  of 
a  classical  education  is  scarcely  credible.  Among  his 
books  and  papers  we  have  found  a  manuscript  volume, 
entitled  "A  Commonplace  Book  of  Original  Pieces: 
N.  Murray,  1824,"  sealed  up  with  an  indorsement  in 
these  words :  "  The  pages  here  inclosed  are  old  col- 
lege scribblings,  of  no  use  to  any  body,  and  never  -to 
be  used  for  any  public  purpose.  June,  18-10."  But 
these  scribblings  are  of  great  use  and  interest  to  his 
friends  and  to  the  public,  for  they  are  the  evidences  of 
the  attainments  which  he  had  already  made  at  a  period 
in  his  history  when  most  young  men  have  scarcely  be- 
gun to  develop  their  intellectual  powers. 

In  the  second  year  of  his  college  life  he  was  elected 
to  be  the  orator  of  the  day  for  the  4th  of  July,  and  his 
oration  is  among  the  "scribblings"  here  preserved. 
The  lofty  spirit  of  patriotism  it  breathes  shows  how 


62  IN  COLLEGE. 


Union.  State  riglitd.  AniUjrst. 

thoroughly  he  had  become  an  American  as  well  as  a 
Protestant;  and  the  whole  address  is  remarkable  as 
illustrating  his  clear  apprehension  of  the  nature  of  our 
political  institutions,  and  his  own  ability  to  defend 
them.  "  The  Union  of  our  States,"  he  says,  "  forma 
our  only  safety ;  it  protects  and  defends  us ;  it  has 
raised  the  American  name  to  an  honorable  elevation 
among  the  nations,  and  affords  its  invisible  and  om- 
nipotent shield  to  every  citizen.  Every  where  it  may 
be  felt  surrounding  us  with  its  magic  influence,  till  we 
have  almost  lost  the  perception  of  its  favors  in  the 
flow  of  its  varied  blessings.  Give  an  absolute  inde- 
pendence to  each  of  our  states,  and  the  promise  of 
our  youth  is  blasted,  and  the  world's  best  hopes  laid 
low." 

In  the  year  182-1,  when  he  was  entering  his  Junior 
year,  the  Pittsfield  Sun  of  Sept.  30th  published  a  com- 
munication from  his  pen  under  the  signature  of"  Mop- 
sus,"  in  which  he  opposes  with  great  vigor  and  ability 
the  charter  of  Amherst  College,  in  Massachusetts, 
which  would  naturally  rival  the  institution  with  which 
he  was  connected.  One  passage  in  this  essay  is  so 
like  him  in  his  after  author  life  that  it  must  be  cited : 

"The  revival  of  religion  which  took  place  in  the 
spring  of  last  year  is  again  and  again  adduced  as  evi- 
dence of  the  favor,  of  God  toward  the  institution.  I 
was  rejoiced  to  hear  of  that  revival.  I  could  and  did 
pray  for  its  extension.  But  when  I  saw  and  heard  of 
the  manner  in  wliieh  it  was  made  use  of — when  I  saw 
it  posted  in  every  gazette,  under  the  staring  capitals, 
A  Revival  in  Amherst  College  ;  when  I  heard  of 


IN  COLLEGE.  63 


state  prison.  College  dialogua 

its  being  brought  forward  in  the  Legislature  as  a  rea- 
son why  Amherst  should  have  a  charter,  and  made 
use  of  on  a  great  many  occasions  to  collect  funds  and 
to  conciliate  the  favor  of  the  pious,  I  could  not  but 
exclaim,  '  Lord,  forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what 
they  do !'  A  revival  was  going  on  at  the  same  time 
among  the  convicts  of  the  state  prison.  I  would  ask 
the  Amherst  gentlemen  whether  the  Lord  sent  that 
as  a  token  that  lie  was  well  pleased  with  the  polity  of 
that  institution  ?  According  to  their  mode  of  reason- 
ing, he  certainly  did." 

This  characteristic  allusion  to  the  prison  revival 
brings  the  adage  readily  to  mind,  "  The  boy  is  father 
of  the  man."  It  is  scarcely  worth  referring  to,  as 
Amherst  College  was  chartered,  became  a  great  and 
blessed  institution,  and  the  local  jealousies  and  rival- 
ries between  Williams  and  Amherst,  that  marked  its 
early  history,  have  long  since  given  place  to  mutual 
respect  and  harmonious  co-operation  in  religion  and 
education. 

For  the  Junior  exhibition  in  May,  1825,  he  wrote  a 
dialogue  called  "The  Hostile  Brothers;  or,  'Free  and 
Equal  Born  are  all  Mankind.'  "  The  scene  is  laid  in 
Ireland,  in  1801,  the  year  after  the  union  of  the  Irish 
and  English  Parliaments.  It  is  written  in  blank  verse, 
and  was  spoken  by  himself,  George  W.  Francis,  and 
Jonathan  11.  Noble.  It  is  remarkable  only  as  another 
indication  of  the  strides  the  young  author  was  making 
in  the  power  of  expression ;  the  various  illustrations 
and  allusions  reveal  something  of  the  extent  of  his 
reading  and  the  culture  of  his  intellect.     It  is  evident, 


64  IN   COLLEGE. 


ExpectatioQs.  High  pforaise. 

even  at  this  early  period,  that  he  was  laying  the  foun- 
dation for  future  eminence.  And  in  immediate  con- 
nection with  the  rhetorical  performance  of  this  dia- 
logue we  have  a  pleasing  proof  of  the  expectations  he 
had  already  excited  in  the  mind  of  his  distinguished 
president.  He  had  not  come  under  the  immediate 
teachings  of  Dr.  Grifl&n,  but  that  great  man  had  marked 
the  progress  he  was  making,  and  ventured  to  give  ex- 
pression to  his  hopes.  Having  learned  that  Murray 
was  thinking  of  hastening  into  the  ministry  without 
going  through  the  regular  college  course,  Dr.  Griffin 
writes  the  following  letter : 

"Williams  College,  May  17,  1825. 

"  To  the  Benefactors  of  Nicholas  Murray  in  the  City 
of  New  York : 

"  Gentlemen, — It  has  come  to  my  knowledge  of 
late  that  Murray  was  contemplating  leaving  college 
after  this  (his  Junior)  year,  to  enter  upon  his  theologic- 
al studies ;  and  upon  inquiring  into  the  matter,  I  find 
that  he  has  an  impression  that  this  is  expected  by  some 
of  you.  I  beg  leave  to  represent  to  you  that  such  a 
measure,  in  my  opinion,  will  greatly  interfere  with  his 
education,  and  materially  limit  his  future  usefulness. 
I  hope  his  benefactors  will  take  the  same  view  of  the 
subject,  and  dissuade  him  from  the  measure,  and  con- 
tinue their  kindness,  so  as  to  enable  him  to  complete 
his  education. 

"Murray  has  an  excellent  mind,  and  bids  fair  to 
make  a  distinguished  and  very  useful  preacher.  He 
has  a  high  standing  as  a  scholar,  and  is  correct  and 


IN  COLLEGE.  65 


Dialogue.  Senior  year. 

exemplary,  so  far  as  I  can  know,  in  all  his  Christian 
conduct.  At  the  Junior  exhibition  this  day  he  acted 
a  part  in  a  dialogue  which  he  had  written,  and  which 
was  of  the  first  character.  And  his  acting  showed 
that  he  will  be  able  to  express  with  great  force  and 
effect  by  his  elocution  what  his  pen  has  written.  I 
hope  your  kindness  will  be  continued  to  him,  and  that 
he  will  reward  you  by  a  course  of  distinguished  use- 
fulness. E,  D.  Griffin." 

These  wise  suggestions  were  heeded,  and  the  stu- 
dent remained  to  finish  his  literary  course  at  Williams. 
His  Senior  year  brought  him  under  the  immediate  in- 
structions of  Dr.  Grifiin.  This  was  his  most  profitable 
year  in  college.  He  needed  just  such  a  critic  as  Dr. 
Griffin  to  take  him  down  and  build  him  up.  An  in- 
cident will  illustrate  the  manner  of  Dr.  Griffin  in  deal- 
ing with  his  pupils  and  its  influence. 

Dr.  Murray,  when  a  young  man,  and  even  down  to 
the  day  of  his  last  illness,  wrote  a  free,  round,  and 
beautiful  hand ;  and  on  one  occasion  his  exercise, 
which  was  to  undergo  the  scrutiny  of  his  venerated 
preceptor,  had  been  prepared  with  uncommon  neat- 
ness and  accuracy.  Dr.  Griffin  was  accustomed  to 
use  a  quill  pen  with  a  very  broad  nib. 

Introduced  into  his  august  presence,  young  Murray, 
with  becoming  diffidence,  presented  his  elegantly  writ- 
ten piece  for  the  ordeal.  The  discerning  eye  of  the 
president  passed  quickly  over  the  first  sentence,  and 
with  a  benignant  look  he  turned  to  his  pupil  and  said, 
in  a  peculiar  way, 


66  IN   COLLEGE. 


Say  so.  Spoiling  the  paper. 

'■^Murray,  ivhat  do  you  mean  by  this  first  sentence?'''' 

Murray  answered  blushingly,  "I  mean  so  and  so, 
sir." 

"  Then  say  so,  Murray ;"  and  at  the  same  time  drew 
his  heavy  pen  through  line  after  line,  striking  out 
about  one  third  of  it. 

IlaviDg  carefully  read  the  next  sentence,  the  vener- 
able critic  again  inquired, 

"  Murray,  ivhat  do  you  mean  hy  this  F" 

He  tremblingly  replied,  "  Doctor,  I  mean  so  and  so." 

"  Please  just  to  say  so,^^  striking  out  again  about  one 
half  of  the  beautifully  written  page. 

In  this  way,  with  his  broad  nib  (which  made  no 
mean  mark),  he  proceeded  to  deface  the  nice  clean 
paper  of  the  young  collegian,  so  that  at  the  close  of 
the  exercises  the  erasures  nearly  equaled  all  that  re- 
mained of  the  carefully  prepared  manuscript. 

This  trying  scene  was  not  lost  upon  young  Murray. 
He  considered  it  one  of  the  most  important  events  of 
his  college  course.  It  taught  him  to  think  and  write 
concisely ;  and  when  he  had  any  thing  to  say,  to  say 
it  in  a  simple,  direct,  and  intelligible  manner. 

Indeed,  much  that  distinguished  him  as  one  of  our 
most  vigorous  and  pointed  writers  may  be  attributed 
to  that  early  lesson,  "Say  so,  Murray." 

lie  cherished  the  liveliest  and  most  grateful  rever- 
ence and  affection  for  Dr.  Griffin,  of  whom  he  narrates 
some  tender  and  affecting  reminiscences  in  a  letter  to 
Dr.  Sprague : 

"  Early  in  the  spring  of  1824,  if  my  memory  serves 
mc,  there  were  glowing  appearances  of  a  most  exten- 


IN   COLLEGE.  67 


Hervcy.  Great  revival. 

sive  revival  in  college.  Indeed,  not  only  the  college, 
but  the  town  was  greatly  shaken.  Dr.  Griffin  was  all 
fervor  and  zeal.  The  excitement  continued  four  or 
five  weeks ;  a  few  individuals  seemed  converted.    A 

wicked  fellow,  by  the  name  of  R ,  began  to  exhort 

us  with  great  power  and  effect.  But  the  excitement 
subsided  as  suddenly  as  it  sprang  up;  and  after  all 
feeling  had  passed  over,  there  was  but  one  in  town  or 
college  that  gave  evidence  of  true  conversion,  and  that 
was  William  Hervey,  whose  bones  repose  in  India, 
where  he  went  as  a  missionary  under  the  American 
Board.  He  was  one  of  the  best  men  I  ever  knew. 
In  a  few  weeks  E was  found  drunk.  In  refer- 
ence to  all  this  matter,  I  heard  Dr.  Griffin  say  after- 
ward :  '  To  save  one  immortal  soul  the  Lord  will  shake 
a  whole  Church,  a  whole  town,  and,  if  nothing  less  will 
save  it.  He  will  shake  a  whole  continent.'  And  to  il- 
lustrate this  position,  he  would  narrate,  with  melting 
pathos,  the  story  of  Hervey 's  conversion. 

"  If  I  recollect  dates  aright,  in  the  spring  of  1825 
there  was  a  truly  powerful  and  genuine  revival  in 
town  and  college.  In  this  work  Dr.  Griffin  was  the 
prime  instrument.  Some  of  the  most  touching  moral 
scenes  that  I  ever  saw  or  heard  of  occurred  during  its 
progress.  Guilty  of  the  sin  of  David,  we  numbered 
the  converted  and  the  unconverted.  The  report  went 
out  one  morning,  and  reached  Dr.  G.,  that  all  college 
was  converted  but  eighteen.  There  was  to  be  a  pray- 
er-meeting that  vght,  and  he  sent  over  word  that 
he  would  meet  with  us.  Although  the  evening  was 
dark  and  stormy,  and  the  ground  exceedingly  muddy, 


68  IN   COLLEGE. 


Those  eighteen.  llallelujali. 

there  was  not  probably  a  student  of  college  absent 
from  the  meeting.  He  came,  and  the  lecture-room 
was  so  crowded  that  he  stood  in  the  door  while  giv- 
ing his  hat  to  one  and  his  cloak  and  lantern  to  others. 
He  stood  for  a  moment  gazing  through  his  tears  on 
the  crowd  before  him;  then  clasping  his  hands,  and 
lifting  up  his  face  to  heaven,  he  uttered,  in  the  most 
moving  accents,  these  words:  'Or  those  eighteen  upon 
whom  the  tower  of  Siloam  fell,  think  ye  that  they 
were  sinners  above  all  men  that  dwelt  in  Jerusalem  ?' 
The  effect  was  overpowering.  For  minutes  he  could 
not  utter  another  word,  and  the  room  was  filled  with 
weeping.  It  was  one  of  those  inimitable  touches 
which  he  could  occasionally  give,  beyond  all  men  that 
I  have  ever  known.  I  narrated  the  incident  to  him 
a  few  weeks  previous  to  his  death.  He  wept  aloud 
on  its  recital,  but  had  forgotten  all  about  it. 

"  In  my  repeated  interviews  with  him  previous  to 
his  death,  I  found  nothing  to  interest  him  so  much  as 
little  incidents  in  reference  to  revivals  in  college,  and 
intelligence  in  respect  to  the  usefulness  of  students 
converted  through  his  instrumentality.  In  my  last 
interview  with  him  I  told  him  the  story  of  the  con- 
version, in  1825,  of  a  Mr.  H ,  now  a  highly  useful 

minister,  but  then  a  profane  and  worthless  profligate. 
The  doctor  was  in  the  habit  of  frequently  closing  his 
sermons  with  "  Hallelujah,  amen,"  and  always  repeat- 
ed the  words  in  a  peculiarly  varied  and  musical  tone. 
His  tones  were  caught  and  repeated  with  laughable 

accuracy  by  H .     Just  at  the  commencement  of 

the  revival  he  was  often  heard  repeating  these  words, 


IN   COLLEGE.  gg 


ScoflTer  converted. 


I'rof.  Hopkins'  letter. 


and  with  great  force,  and  wit,  and  sarcasm,  exhorting 
his  fellow-students  to  get  converted,  swearing  that  he 
himself  would  get  converted  the  very  first  one.  He 
was  seen  on  a  fast-day  morning  coming  into  the  pray- 
er-meeting, as  we  all  thought,  to  make  sport ;  but  be- 
fore the  meeting  ended  he  arose,  and  such  an  appeal 
to  the  students  as  he  made,  and  such  an  effect  as  it 
produced,  I  never  witnessed ;  and,  to  the  close  of  the 
revival,  he  was  as  useful  as  any  among  us.  The  sto- 
ry affected  the  doctor  to  such  a  degree  that,  for  a  time, 
he  was  entirely  overcome." 

At  the  feet  of  such  a  man  as  this  Nicholas  Murray 
sat  four  years.     With  him  they  were  formative  years. 

The  Eev.  Albert  Hopkins,  now  a  distinguished  pro- 
fessor in  Williams  College,  and  brother  of  the  presi- 
dent, furnishes  the  following  recollections  of  Dr.  Mur- 
ray in  college : 

"Dear  Sir,— You  ask  me  to  furnish  some  college 
reminiscences  of  my  former  classmate  and  friend,  Rev. 
Dr.  Murray.  I  retain  a  very  lively  impression  of  him 
as  he  appeared  when  a  student,  now  nearly  forty  years 
since,  and  can  easily  present  a  correct  portrait  to  those 
who  knew  him  late  in  life.  We  naturally  think  of 
the  youth  in  college,  unknown  to  fame  and  struggling 
with  difficulties,  and  the  venerable  clergyman,  the  able 
debater,  and  author  of  world-wide  reputation,  as  two 
very  different  things.  Those,  however,  who  knew  Dr. 
Murray  in  the  former  relation,  found  no  difficulty  in 
identifying  him  when  his  pen  and  voice  had  rendered 
him  widely  known. 


70  IN   COLLEGE, 


Athletic  poMer.  Wit  and  humor. 

"  Owing,  in  part  at  least,  to  his  active  life  and  pre* 
vious  business  habits,  Murray  had  acquired,  before  en- 
tering  college,  that  essential  prerequisite  to  success — a 
sound  constitution  and  vigorous  health.  His  framo 
was  well  knit  and  athletic.  The  gymnasium,  in  those 
days,  was  unknown ;  but  the  students  used  to  practice 
various  athletic  exercises,  both  for  the  sake  of  amuse- 
ment and  for  better  health.  One  of  these,  I  remem- 
ber, was  that  of  throwing,  or,  as  we  used  to  say,  heav- 
ing the  axe.  It  was  in  connection  with  this  exercise 
that  I  first  found  out  the  physical  vigor  of  my  class- 
mate. Standing  with  the  feet  firmly  fixed,  I  was  able 
to  excel  him ;  but  he  had  a  knack  of  whirling  his  body 
round  two  or  three  times,  and  thus  giving  a  part  of  its 
momentum  to  the  axe.  Allowing  this  to  he  fair  (which 
I  was  not  disposed  to  do),  I  was  obliged  to  give  in  to 
him.  I  might  multiply  incidents  in  this  line,  some  of 
them  rather  amusing,  but  the  grave  j^urpose  of  the 
memoir  prompts  me  to  refrain. 

"  The  social  qualities  of  Dr.  Murray  were  quite  re- 
markable, lie  had  genuine  humor,  some  wit,  relish- 
ed a  good  story,  and  knew  how  to  tell  one  better  than 
most.  This  was  true  in  his  early  as  well  as  in  his  later 
years.  Add  to  this  that,  having  seen  more  of  life  than 
most  persons  of  his  age,  he  had  a  fund  of  topics  and 
incidents  which  enabled  him  both  to  amuse  and  inter- 
est beyond  what  is  common  in  college  circles. 

"  As  a  speaker  and  debater  Murray  stood  high.  In 
college  meetings,  and  on  occasions  which  called  forth 
ability  in  these  directions,  he  was  prominent.  One  of 
these  will  doubtless  be  remembered  by  surviving  con- 


IJSr  COLLEGE, 


emporanes;  I  refer  to  the  celebration  commemora- 
tive of  the  completion  of  the  great  New  York  Canal 
it  may  be  thought  singular  that  in  New  England  a 
day  should  have  been  set  apart  for  such  a  purpose'- 
but  some  of  the  students,  and  Murray,  I  believe,  amonc^ 
the  niost  prominent  of  them,  were  aware  that  Presi° 
dent  Griffin  was  a  particular  admirer,  as  well  as  per- 
sonal friend,  of  De  Witt  Clinton.     Although  the  open- 
ing of  the  New  York  Canal,  therefore,  was  not  an  event 
celebrated  m  the  United  States  generally,  they  made 
bold  to  appear  before  the  doctor  and  request  the  day 
Ihis,  somewhat  to  the  astonishment  of  the  colleo-e  was 
granted.     The  celebration,  accordingly,  proceeded  in 
due  form ;  a  number  of  speeches  were  made,  of  which 
i  retain  no  distinct  recollection  except  that  of  Murray 
in  which,  after  happily  setting  forth  the  marriage  of 
the  Atlantic  with  the  Lakes,  he  told  us,  going  on  to 
speak  of  Clinton,  'that  there  were  many  bnlliant  stars 
above  the  horizon,  but  one,  or,  to  give  his  characteris- 
tic brogue,  but  zvaun  in  the  zenith !' 

"During  our  Senior  year  a  remarkable  revival  of 
religion  occuired  in  the  college.  Professors  of  relic., 
ion,  as  well  as  others,  shared  largely  in  the  work  Dr 
Griffin  renewed  the  zeal  and  activity,  and  displayed 
much  of  the  power  which  characterized  his  best  days 
in  the  ministry.  The  effect  of  the  work  on  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  was  salutary.  It  chastened  some- 
what the  exuberance  of  his  spirits,  rendered  him  more 
devoted,  though  not  less  cheerful,  and  prepared  him, 
no  doubt,  to  give  himself  with  more  earnestness  to  the 
sacred  work  on  which  his  eye  had  been  fixed  from  the 
commencement  of  his  course. 


72  IN   COLLEGE. 


Class  meetings.  l^r.  Dewey's  letter. 

"Since  graduating,  there  have  been  several  meet- 
ings of  our  class.  At  one  of  the  last  of  these,  thir- 
ty years,  I  think,  since  we  parted  on  Commencement 
day.  Dr.  Murray  was  present.  He  appeared  in  perfect 
health,  and  retained  the  sprightliness  and  freshness  of 
former  years,  though  his  gray  hair  contrasted  striking- 
ly with  the  jet  black  and  somewhat  curly  locks  he 
used  to  wear  when  a  student.  On  leaving  the  meet- 
ing, some  one  remarked,  '  How  perfectly  Murray  re- 
tains his  identity !'  Though  a  riper  experience  had 
given  more  elevation  to  his  character,  yet  his  manners 
and  modes  of  expression,  the  peculiarities  of  his  mind, 
heart,  and  temperament  were  singularly  preserved ;  in 
a  word,  the  whole  man  was  again  before  us. 

"  I  need  not  add  that  his  loss  was  deeply  felt  by 
the  class,  as,  indeed,  it  was  by  the  college,  with  whose 
Board  of  Trust  he  was  this  year  to  have  taken  his 
seat  for  the  first  time." 

Letter  from  Rev.  Chester  Dewey ^LL.D. 
"  Nicholas  Murray  was  graduated  at  Williams  Col- 
lege in  1826,  and  received  the  high  honorary  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Divinity  from  his  Alma  Mater  in  1843. 
I  had  no  acquaintance  with  him  until  he  became  a 
member  of  the  college;  but,  coming  as  a  young  Irish- 
man who  had  been  converted  from  Catholicism,  and 
who  seemed  to  have  adopted  the  Protestant  faith  with 
strong  convictions  of  its  truth  and  living  power,  he 
excited  no  little  interest  in  my  mind.  As  he  came 
into  my  department  in  the  Junior  year,  I  saw  his  active 
and  earnest  application  to  his  studies,  and  his  warm- 


IN   COLLEGE.  73 


The  embiyo.  The  future. 

hearted  and  genial  temperament,  as  well  as  his  win- 
ning playfulness  of  spirit  and  language.  He  stood  on 
high  ground  in  the  view  of  his  friends,  and  all  were 
attached  to  him  that  knew  him.  The  embryo  of  that 
peculiar  elasticity  of  feeling,  and  felicity  of  thought 
and  diction,  for  which  he  was  so  highly  distinguished 
in  the  latter  years  of  his  life,  seems  to  me  to  have  been 
greatly  developed  as  he  was  called  to  act  in  a  more 
important  position,  and  enjoyed  more  intimate  fellow- 
ship with  highly -gifted  and  cultivated  minds.  Ilis 
warm,  benevolent  feelings  and  deep  Christian  sympa- 
thies led  him  strongly  to  desire  the  enlightenment  of 
his  countrymen  who  were  still  enshrouded  in  that 
darkness  which  the  Sun  of  righteousness  had  dispel- 
led from  his  own  mind  and  heart.  As  I  had  known 
him  when  this  sympathy  was  young  in  his  mind,  I  re- 
joiced to  see  it  acting  with  impressive  power  as  his 
useful  and  influential  age  was  increasing.  .  .  . 

"  What  a  reward  came  to  his  friends  and  teachers 
who,  without  an  effort,  enabled  a  meritorious  youth  to 
accomplish  his  heart's  desire !  Many  of  them  lived  to 
see  his  honorable  and  high  career  of  ministerial  use- 
fulness. Ilis  gratitude  was  often  expressed,  when  I 
had  the  privilege  of  meeting  and  rejoicing  with  him, 
in  all  the  blessings  our  God  and  Savior  had  bestow- 
ed upon  him  in  his  course.  He  was  a  good  young 
man.  Fine  talents.  The  future,  already  finished  on 
earth,  was  the  realization,  under  the  good  providence 
of  God,  of  what  his  youth  had  foreshadowed." 

D 


74  A  TRAVELING   AGENT. 

Going  to  work.  An  iigciit. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Out  of  College  and  at  Work. — Becomes  an  Agent  of  the  American 
Tract  Society. — Travels  in  Washington  County,  N.  Y. — The  Men 
he  met. — His  Diary. — Fruits  of  his  Labors. 

Scarcely  was  be  out  of  college  walls  before  he  was 
in  a  field  of  useful  and  active  labor.  He  graduated  in 
September,  and  was  to  enter  the  Theological  Semi- 
nary at  Princeton  in  November.  This  brief  interval 
he  employed  in  an  agency  for  the  American  Tract  So- 
ciety. Leaving  the  city  of  New  York  on  the  morn- 
ing of  Friday,  September  22d,  1826,  he  had  a  disagree- 
able passage  up  the  Hudson  River  on  the  Olive  Branch. 
Riding  in  the  stage-coach  from  Albany  to  Troy,  he 
was  attacked  with  a  pain  in  his  neck  so  severely  as  to 
call  out  the  sympathies  of  a  stranger,  Mr.  Tracy,  who 
took  him  to  his  home,  and  entertained  him  kindly  and 
hospitably.  In  the  evening  Dr.  Robbins  bled  him, 
and  he  was  confined  two  days  to  the  house.  Rev.  Dr. 
Beman  gave  him  a  cordial  welcome  when  he  .called 
on  his  recovery,  and  encouraged  him  greatly  in  his 
work.  September  27th  he  left  Troy,  and,  passing 
through  Lansingburg,  he  journeyed  to  Wasliington 
County,  the  field  to  which  he  was  sent.  Arriving  at 
Salem,  he  was  made  at  home  in  the  house  of  the  Rev. 
Alexander  Proudfit,  D.D.  This  distinguished  serv- 
ant of  God  received  him  with  great  kindness,  and  en- 
tered heartily  into  the  work.     Together  they  rode 


A  TRAVELING  AGENT.  76 

Washington  County.  Whitehall. 

into  the  neighboring  towns,  made  appointments  for 
public  meetings,  delivered  lectures  and  addresses,  and 
formed  auxiliary  societies.  At  Granville  the  Rev. 
John  Whiton  was  his  guide  and  support,  and  here  his 
labors  were  very  successful.  At  Sandy  Hill  the  Eev. 
Ravaud  K.  Rogers  took  him  warmly  by  the  hand,  and 
made  his  labors  delightful  and  fruitful.  At  Cam- 
bridge he  stopped  at  the  house  of  Rev.  Mr.  Prime, 
who  went  with  him  to  other  places  and  cheered  him 
in  his  work.  In  his  journal  he  writes:  "Nowhere 
have  I  met  with  more  efficiency,  nor  found  an  indi- 
vidual more  hearty  in  the  cause  than  Nathaniel  S. 
Prime."  Ilis  sketches  of  the  scenery  and  the  charac- 
ters of  the  men  he  met  with  in  this  town  are  exceed- 
ingly graphic  and  truthful.     The  following  are 

Extracts  from  Journal  of  an  Agency  for  the  A.  T.»Socieiy. 
"  AVhitehall  is  situated  in  a  narrow  defile,  between 
high,  rocky,  and  bleak  mountains.  Nature  seems  to 
have  fortified  it  on  every  side  with  walls  of  adamant. 
When  the  breeze  is  so  light  that  it  scarcely  causes  a 
leaf  to  flutter  on  the  mountain  top,  the  rush  of  winds 
through  its  narrow  passage  is  deafening.  Its  proxim- 
ity to  Lake  Champlain,  and  its  situation  at  the  head 
of  navigation,  together  with  its  being  the  thoroughfare 
to  the  Canadas,  and  at  the  entrance  of  the  Champlain 
Canal  into  the  lake,  point  it  out  as  a  place  of  commer- 
cial and  religious  importance.  Hitherto  its  wicked- 
ness has  been  proverbial.  Being  the  landing-place  in 
the  United  States  of  those  European  emigrants  who 
come  by  the  way  of  the  Canadas,  and  these  being  gen- 


76  A   TRAVELING   AGENT. 

Improvement.  Fort  Ann. 

erally  of  the  lowest  order,  they  settle  down  here  and 
stagnate,  like  a  filthy  marsh,  polluting  even  the  very 
atmosphere.  Until  very  lately  the  Sabbath  was  open- 
ly profaned,  the  streets  exhibiting  the  same  degree  of 
bustle  and  business  as  any  other  day  in  the  week. 
But  society  begins  now  to  assume  a  different  aspect ; 
a  neat  little  Presbyterian  church  is  seen  to  lift  its 
sparkling  dome  to  the  sunbeams,  and  from  the  exer- 
tions of  the  pious,  and  the  influence  they  possess  in  the 
village,  we  may  soon  expect  to  see  Whitehall,  like  the 
peaceful  bosom  of  the  lake  on  the  borders  of  which  it 
is  situated,  reflect  the  image  of  heaven." 

"  To  Fort  Ann  is  nothing  but  Wood  Creek  widen- 
ed. A  more  sterile,  cold,  and  rocky  country  I  think  I 
never  passed  through.  A  wide  waste  of  marshy  land, 
with  here  and  there  a  blue  pool  of  stagnant  water,  and 
in  the  distance,  which  is  not  generally  far  removed, 
white  limestone  rock,  partly  covered  with  stunted 
trees,  are  the  scenes  which  continuall}^  meet  the  eye. 
Houses  in  ruins,  and  naked  and  starvcd-looking  wom- 
en and  children  are  seen  in  numbers  along  the  road. 
The  business  continually  going  on  through  the  canal 
gives  to  the  dreariness  of  the  place  a  little  variety,  but 
you  never  see  any  thing  more  pleasing  than  a  sluggish 
boat  'dragging  its  slow  length  along,'  or  hear  any 
thing  more  musical  than  the  voice  of  the  driver,  ech- 
oed back  by  the  mountains,  heaping  blessings  and 
curses  alternately  upon  the  consumptive  nag  as  it 
quickens  or  slackens  its  pace.  About  two  o'clock  P. 
M.  we  arrived  at  Fort  Ann." 

"  In  company  with  some  ladies,  T  took  a  walk  to  the 


A  TRAVELING  AGENT.  77 

GIcuD  Falls.  Cooper'8  Cave. 

celebrated  Glenn  Falls,  rendered  classic  by  the  pen  of 
Cooper.  The  village  is  in  the  county  of  Warren,  and 
in  the  town  of  Queensbury.  It  is  indeed  a  most  ro- 
mantic spot.  Every  thing  sublime  and  awful  in  the 
ragged  rock,  and  in  the  headlong  thundering  torrent, 
present  themselves  to  view.  Looking  downward  on 
the  confused  and  tumultuous  waters  as  they  pursue 
their  angry  and  headlong  course  through  the  chan- 
nels they  have  worn  in  the  everlasting  rocks,  you  are 
amazed.  Ilere,  century  after  century,  they  have  been 
roaring  and  tumbling.  They  have  sung  their  dirge 
over  the  last  of  the  brave  men  that  once  wandered 
free  on  their  borders,  and  will  continue  to  sing  when 
the  persecutors  of  those  brave  men  shall  have  perished 
forever.  The  water  was  so  low  that  you  go  all  over 
the  immense  rocks  around  which  the  waters  are  roar- 
ing. In  some  places  you  find  holes  twelve  fee£  deep, 
completely  circular,  and  as  smooth  as  if  made  with  an 
auger,  and  all  over  their  surface  you  find  indentations 
similar  to  those  which  can  be  made  by  pressing  the 
finger  on  mortar.  Nor  are  the  rocks  solid.  They  are 
all  disjointed  masses,  in  some  places  thrown  promis- 
cuously together,  and  in  others  laid  with  great  regu- 
larity, as  if  by  some  Titanic  power.  I  went  into  the 
cave  where  Uncas  and  black-eyed  Cora,  together  with 
their  songster,  Gamut,  passed  the  terrible  night  when 
the  infernal  Magua  was  in  their  pursuit.  It  looked 
not  as  if  it  would  make  a  bed  '  soft  as  downy  pillows 
are.'  It  is  formed  by  the  meeting  together  of  two 
rocks  w^hich  Nature's  chisel  seems  to  have  converted 
into  an  alcove.    It  is  admirably  calculated  for  the  pro- 


78  A  TRAVELING  AGENT. 

Great  success.  Expenses. 

tection  of  innocence  from  Indian  ferocity.  The  tree 
now  exists  not  on  which  Hawkeye  shot  his  pursuer, 
nor  can  we  find  many  of  the  prominent  situations 
and  cliffs  described  by  Cooper.  They  are  fast  passing 
away;  even  the  adamantine  rocks  decay  before  the 
withering  march  of  Time." 

In  this  agency  he  visited  and  performed  valuable 
service  for  the  American  Tract  Society  in  Troy, 
Lansingburg,  Salem,  Greenwich,  Hebron,  Granville, 
Whitehall,  Fort  Ann,  Kingsbury,  Sandy  Hill,  Glenn's 
Falls,  Hartford,  Fort  ISIiller,  Union  Village,  Argyle, 
Easton,  Buskirk's  Bridge,  Cambridge,  and  several  con- 
gregations in  other  places.  Some  of  these  places  he 
visited  two  and  three  times,  being  obliged  to  go  first 
and  make  arrangements  for  public  meetings,  and  then 
return  to  address  them  and  attend  to  the  business  of 
the  society.  In  most  of  them  he  found  auxiliary  tract 
societies,  and  in  some  towns  that  are  large,  including 
several  villages,  he  organized  one  in  each  settlement 
Every  where  he  was  kindly  received,  and  his  joleasing 
address  and  popular  manners  gave  him  access' to  all 
houses  and  hearts. 

In  this  journal  of  his  first  service  in  the  cause  of 
Christ  we  find  an  account  of  his  expenses  for  the  six 
weeks  in  which  he  was  employed,  including  every 
thing  he  spent,  from  the  blank-book  in  which  his  jour- 
nal is  written,  twelve  and  a  half  cents,  to  his  fare  from 
Albany  to  New  York,  four  dollars,  on  his  return.  It  is 
worthy  of  being  recorded  as  an  evidence  of  his  econo- 
my and  systematic  habits,  that  the  entire  expenses  of 
this  trip,  involving  daily  travel  from  place  to  place. 


A  TRAVELING  AGENT.  79 

Compensation.  luereased. 

often  by  stage  and  hired  conve3'ance,  but  more  fre- 
quently by  the  kindness  of  friends  who  helped  him 
on  his  way,  amounted  in  the  whole  but  to  fourteen 
dollars  sixty -two  and  a  half  cents !  And  half  of  that 
was  spent  in  getting  to  and  from  the  city  of  Albany 
by  steam-boat. 

His  services  were  appreciated  by  the  Society,  and  a 
larger  compensation  awarded  to  him  than  had  been 
promised.  The  available  talent  of  the  young  agent, 
his  remarkable  facility  for  adapting  himself  to  every 
situation  into  which  he  was  thrown,  his  tact  for  get- 
ting along  with  all  sorts  of  men,  his  easy  familiarity 
with  the  people  whose  fiwor  it  was  important  to  con- 
ciliate, marked  him  as  a  young  man  destined  to  un- 
common usefulness. 

Thus  the  little  interval  between  the  close  of  his  col- 
legiate course  and  his  entrance  on  his  theological  stud- 
ies was  improved  with  an  industry,  energy,  and  effi- 
ciency that  distinguished  his  whole  career. 

The  minutes  of  the  American  Tract  Society's  Ex- 
ecutive Committee  furnish  the  following  testimonials : 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  Committee  of  the  American 
Tract  Society,  New  York,  Sept.  23, 1826, 

'■'■Resolved,  That  Mr.  Nicholas  Murray,  a  graduate  of 
Williams  College,  and  about  to  join  the  Theological 
Seminary,  Princeton,  be  commissioned  to  labor  seven 
weeks  in  "Washington  County  and  vicinity,  New  York, 
to  have  his  expenses  borne,  and  to  receive  after  the 
rate  of  $20  for  six  weeks  as  compensation." 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  Committee  of  the  American 
Tract  Society,  Nov.  11, 1826,  a  letter  was  read  from  Mr. 


80  A  TKAVELING   AGENT. 

HU  gratitude.  Nece:-sitie3. 

N.Murray,  the  Society's  agent  in  Washington  County, 
New  York,  and  vicinity,  respecting  his  agency  for  six 
and  a  half  weeks,  during  which  time  he  assisted  in 
forming  seventeen  auxiliaries,  and  collected  $236. 
"Whereupon,  Resolved^  That  $8  per  week  be  allowed 
him  as  compensation  for  his  services." 

In  a  letter  to  Dr.  Ilalleck,  dated  Princeton  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  Nov.  25, 1826,  in  which  he  speaks  of 
the  allowance  of  $52  for  his  services,  he  says : 

"I  must  say  now  what  I  told  you  at  the  time,  that 
my  compensation  was  unexpected,  though  not  un- 
earned. Were  I  to  receive  nothing  more  than  the  ap- 
probation you  bestowed  on  me,  I  would  feel  myself 
liberally  paid.  I  commenced  my  agency  with  the  de- 
termination to  accept  of  nothing  for  my  labors  unless 
I  accomplished  something  worthy  of  the  object  in 
which  I  was  engaged.  1  labored  incessantly ;  the  Lord 
blessed  my  exertion.  *  '^'  * 

"I  am  here  pursuing  my  studies,  and  under  expense, 
without  any  earthly  prospect  of  being  able  to  pay  my 
expenses.  What  some  of  my  friends  in  the  city  will 
do  for  me  I  know  not,  but  even  if  they  fullill  my  high- 
est expectations,  I  will  not  receive  enough  to  pay  half 
my  expenses.  I  must,  therefore,  do  something  or  other 
to  meet  my  just  debts  and  to  supply  my  pressing  ne^ 
cessitics.  I  have  thought  of  leaving  the  Seminary  for 
the  present,  for  the  purpose  of  earning  some  money  by 
teaching  a  school ;  but  my  friends  are  utterly  opposed 
to  it.  If  I  remain  in  this  place  I  would  wish  to  know, 
sir,  if  I  could  spend  my  May  and  October  vacations  in 
the  employment  of  your  Society  as  an  agent.  Be  as- 
sured I  feel  most  warmly  your  kindness."  *  *  * 


IN   THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINAKY.  81 

la  Theological  Scmiuary.  Kuttections. 


CHAPTER  V.  '^"^ 

Diary  in  Princeton  Theological  Seminary. — Formation  of  Character. 
— Ambition. — Goes  to  Philadelphia. — An  Agent  again. — Travels. 
— Self-discipline. — Labors  in  the  City. — Called  to  Account  by  his 
Presbyter}'.  —  Remarkable  Letter  in  Self-defense.  —  Letter  from 
Eev.  Dr.  Aydclotte. — Letter  from  Rev.  Joshua  N.  Danforth,  D.D. 
— Private  Letters. 

Extracts  from  his  Diary. 

"  This  is  tlie  first  Sabbath  that  I  have  ever  spent 
within  the  walls  of  a  theological  seminary — the  first 
Sabbath  that  I  have  ever  spent  under  the  character 
of  a  student  of  theology.  Although  the  ministerial 
character  is  that  which  has  been  for  years  the  object 
of  my  pursuit,  I  have  frequently  lost  sight  of  it,  and 
in  the  ambitious  pursuit  of  pre-eminence  in  scientific 
attainments  have  forgotten  its  importance.  I  have 
viewed  it  as  the  sinner  does  the  day  of  his  account, 
afar  off.  Oh!  how  many  hours  have  I  spent  in  the 
circles  of  mental  dissipation  which  might  be  spent  in 
the  acquirement  of  knowledge  of  which  I  am  now 
completely  destitute.  Of  my  attainments  in  science, 
considering  my  advantages,  although  they  might  be 
vastly  greater  than  they  are,  I  have  no  reason  to  com- 
plain ;  but  in  the  pursuit  of  these  attainments  I  have 
neglected  my  Bible  and  my  God. 

"  Ambition  was  my  controlling  principle  while  in 
college.  It  was  my  polar  star  by  night,  my  compass 
and  canvas  by  day.  As  it  will  bring  every  individ- 
ual, it  brought  me  sometimes  into  shoal  water,  and 

D2 


82  IX   THE   THEOLOGICAL   SEMINARY. 

Ambition.  New  r&^olution. 

among  rocks  and  quicksands;  but  tlius  fur  the  Lord 
has  saved  me  from  shipwreck.  Sometimes  it  has  en- 
dangered my  bark  among  storms  and  temj)csts,  but  the 
waves  have  not  as  yet  overwhelmed  me,  nor  has  the 
storm  destroyed  me.  Seeing  that  I  am  now  beyond 
the  periphery  of  ambitious  influence,  at  least  as  far  as 
a  separation  from  college  carries  me  beyond  it,  I  am 
determined,  instead  of  encouraging  it  as  I  have  hith- 
erto done,  to  war  in  the  strength  of  the  Lord  against 
it.  Ambition  will  do  very  well  in  the  heart  of  an 
Alexander  or  a  Bonaparte,  for  their  aim  was  earthly 
honor  and  earthly  dominion ;  it  will  do  very  well  in 
the  bosom  of  a  Burke  or  a  Fox,  for  their  aim  was  to 
stand  at  the  head  of  their  party;  but  in  the  bosom  of 
a  student  of  Christian  theology,  whose  supreme  object 
ought  to  be  to  know  God  and  to  do  His  will,  to  break 
the  slavery  of  sinners  to  the  devil,  and  to  extend  the 
boundaries  of  Christ's  kingdom,  it  is  not  only  out  of 
place,  but  it  is  absolutely  sinful.  People  may  say 
what  they  please  about  ambition  in  the  abstract — that 
it  is  only  a  desire  to  be  great  in  any  particular  profes- 
sion ;  but  it  is  not  only  a  desire  to  be  great,  but  it  is  a 
desire  to  be  the  greatest,  and  that,  too,  at  the  expense 
of  every  body  else.  To  the  ambitious  man  no  obsta- 
cle is  insurmountable,  no  task  too  arduous.  To  hin\ 
mountains  become  plains,  and  seas  rivers.  To  him 
the  remote  parts  of  the  earth  become  contiguous.  lie 
will  even  dare  to  scale  the  heavens;  while  on  the 
field  of  vision  an  object  or  an  individual  more  promi- 
nent than  himself  exists,  he  is  restless  and  unhappy. 
He  must  be,  consequently,  a  man  of  jealousy  and  envy, 


IN  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY.  83 

Emulation.  In  Princeton. 

unhappy  himself,  and  rendering  those  around  him  so. 
Like  sulphuric  acid,  wherever  he  goes  he  causes  fer- 
mentation. Nor  is  such  a  being  hap]3_y  in  heaven. 
While  God,  the  perfection  of  the  world,  holds  His 
throne,  and  stands  far  ahead  of  the  realm  of  intelli- 
gence to  which  lie  has  given  existence,  the  ambitious 
spirit,  which  lives  only  on  conquest,  and  succeeds  only 
by  taking  the  highest  rank,  can  not  possess  itself  in 
peace.  If  such  is  the  true  character  of  an  ambitious 
spirit,  can  it  with  propriety  be  cherished  by  a  theolog- 
ical student? 

"  With  these  ideas  and  views  of  ambition,  I  here 
most  solemnly  and  sincerely  protest  against  it  in  every 
form.  It  is  an  unholy  principle  in  all  its  operations. 
Instead  of  this  cankering  principle,  let  a  holy  emula- 
tion possess  my  bosom ;  let  me  be  emulous  of  gaining 
exalted  ideas  of  God,  debasing  ideas  of  myself ;  emu- 
lous of  making  those  acquisitions  and  manners  which 
have  a  tendency  to  render  men  useful  to  the  Church 
and  to  the  world,  so  that,  unlike  the  mass  of  men,  I 
may  not  go  off  the  stage  leaving  no  impression  on  the 
world  behind  me. 

"Jan.  1,  1829,  found  me  in  Princeton,  among  my 
books  and  classmates.  Oh,  how  refreshing  the  reflec- 
tion of  the  happiness  there  enjoyed.  Shut  out  from 
life's  busy  cares,  how  sweet  to  study  the  workmanship 
of  God  I  The  hours  spent  at  Princeton  will  be  ever 
dear  to  me.  Even  now  their  memory  comes  over  me, 
recalling  many  a  holy  hour  of  prayer  and  brotherly 
communion.  Some  of  my  companions — where  are 
they  ?     Oh,  how  has  one  short  year  dispersed  the  lit- 


84  IN  THE  THEOLOGICAL   SEMINABY. 

His  friends.  Examination. 

tie  band  that  loved  -and  lived  together !  The  John  of 
the  sweet  band  is  gone  to  isles  where  Ilall,  and  Young, 
and  Whiting,  and  Janeway,  and  Baird  no  more,  un- 
less in  thought,  shall  bow  with  him  to  ask  sweet  gifts 
from  heaven.  May  the  South  Sea  Isles  forever  feel 
thy  influence,  dear  Gulick!  Oh,  may  you  see  her 
idols  deserted,  her  ignorance  enlightened,  her  pollu- 
tion washed  away  by  the  atoning  and  cleansing  blood 
of  Christ.  And  when  the  sun,  which  never  makes  a 
night,  shall  gird  the  isles  of  the  South  Sea  with  one 
broad  zone  of  light,  may  you,  and  those  saved  through 
you,  meet  with  those  you  have  left  behind,  never,  nev- 
er more  to  part.  Oh,  then  we'll  think  of  Princeton, 
and  bless  the  day  we  met  in  its  revered  halls. 

"  On  the  second  week  of  April  last  I  joined  the 
New  York  Presbytery.  Would  that  for  such  a  sol- 
emn relation  I  had  been  more  prepared  in  heart.  Dod, 
and  Hunter,  and  Gray  joined  with  me.  A  good  ex- 
amination. Would  that  I  could  with  as  much  ease 
and  honor  acquit  myself  before  the  bar  of  Heaven. 
But  in  Thy  merits,  Jesus,  let  me  stand  acquitted.  The 
examination  in  classics  nothing  but  form ;  on  experi- 
mental piety  little  else.  If  ever  permitted  to  be  a 
presbyter,  oh,  let  me  regard  the  oflficc  I  sustain,  if  not 
myself.  \ 

"  On  the  17th  May,  engaged  as  agent  for  the  Amer- 
ican Tract  Society,  to  spend  six  weeks  in  Pennsylva- 
nia. Came  by  accident  to  Philadelphia,  where  I  com- 
menced labor  with  a  poor  prospect  of  success.  Suc- 
ceeded far  beyond  the  expectations  of  my  friends.  At 
the  end  of  six  weeks,  could  not  return  to  Princeton  on 


IN  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY.  85 

Travels.  New  era. 

account  of  the  importance  of  my  labors  to  sustain  the 
cause  commenced.  Was  prevailed  on  to  remain,  at 
least,  during  the  summer  months.  During  the  sum- 
mer, visited  Baltimore,  Gettysburg,  Carlisle,  Harris- 
burg,  and  through  Lancaster  to  Philadelphia. 

"  About  the  1st  of  November  was  prevailed  on  to 
remain  for  one  year  from  that  time.  And  now  the 
commencement  of  the  new  year  finds  me  in  this  city, 
where,  at  the  commencement  of  the  last,  I  had  no  more 
expectation  of  being  than  in  the  moon.  Thus  we  are 
constantly  led  by  a  path  which  we  know  not.  How 
vain  the  labor,  at  which  man  so  frequently  toils,  of 
planning  ways  and  means  to  guide  his  future  life! 
Oh,  how  hard  the  lesson  to  walk  by  faith  and  not  by 
sight ! 

"  For  the  mercies  of  the  last  year  I  ought  to  be 
thankful.  General  health  has  been  meted  out  to  me ; 
no  sickness  which  detained  me  a  single  day  to  my 
bed.  Prosperity  has  been  my  lot.  The  agency  un- 
der my  control  has  been  prospered  beyond  measure. 
The  Tract  Society  has  introduced  a  new  era  into  Penn- 
sylvania exertion.  I  have  formed  friends  and  friend- 
ships which  will  be  dear  to  me  through  life.  Among 
the  pious  and  intelligent  I  have  found  a  name.  Of 
many  of  them  I  have  made  particular  friends;  of 
many  more,  pleasing  acquaintances.  For  this,  to  God 
be  all  the  glor}^  Oh,  let  me  never  forget  the  hole  of 
the  pit  from  which  I  was  digged. 

"I  have  been  permitted  to  take  an  active  part  in 
many  objects,  some  unnecessary  to  mention.  The 
tract  has  been  my  leading.     May  I  not  be  a  castaway. 


86  IN   THE  THEOLOGICAL   SEMINARY. 

Hev.  Dr.  Kice.  Communion. 

■while  I  am  devoting  my  time,  and  money,  and  talents 
to  the  general  cause  of  benevolence. 

"Sabbath  evening,  January  6th,  1828. 

"  This  has  been  the  first  Sabbath  of  the  new  year. 
Shall  I  see  its  last  ?  Perhaps  I  may ;  perhaps  not ; 
but  the  preponderating  probabilities  are  that  I  shall 
not.  I  have  passed  my  25th  year;  80  years  make 
the  mean  proportion  of  men's  lives:  25  chances,  then, 
are  gone !  Oh  that  I  might  see  this  subject  in  the 
light  of  eternity ! 

"I  heard  Dr.  Eice,  of  Virginia,  preach  this  morn- 
ing, in  Dr.  Skinner's  Church,  on  the  subject  of  the 
Sacrament.  In  the  former  part  of  the  exercises  my 
feelings  seemed  desirous  to  get  out  of  their  wonted 
slow,  dull  mood,  and  rise  to  fervent  and  holy  com- 
munion ;  but  flesh  so  domineers  over  spirit,  and  rea- 
son over  faith  with  me,  that,  before  the  close  of  the 
sermon,  I  sunk  to  my  dull,  prosing  mood  again.  Oh 
that  I  could  walk  more  by  faith,  and  depend  less  on 
sight!  I  seem  like  the  ancient  mariners,  sailing  only 
in  shoal  waters,  where  my  short  line  can  find  sound- 
ings— without  the  bold,  Christian  intrepidity  which  en- 
ables its  possessor  to  launch  forth  into  the  broad  ocean 
of  a  Savior's  love,  without  that  faith  which  entereth 
into  that  within  the  veil,  whither  the  forerunner  hak 
gone. 

*'  This  was  Dr.  Skinner's  communion  Sabbath.  I 
had  the  privilege  of  sitting  at  the  table  set  in  the  wil- 
derness. Oh  that  its  dainties  might  be  more  palata- 
ble to  me !  I  sat  as  at  a  table  of  carnal,  common  food ; 
T  ]iartook  as  without  appetite  or  relish.     The  emblems 


INT  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY.  87 

Bible-class.  Mr.  Nettleton. 

had,  for  me,  none  of  the  flavor  of  the  honey  or  the 
honeycomb.  How  long  shall  I  be  thus  feeding  upon 
husks,  while  there  are  dainties  enough  in  my  father's 
house,  and  to  spare  ?  One  reason  for  this  barrenness 
I  find  in  the  neglect  of  self-examination  and  prayer. 
0  Lord,  may  I  with  greater  humility  seek  the  light 
of  thy  reconciled  countenance. 

"  In  the  afternoon,  commenced  instructing  the  first 
Bible-class  that  was  ever  under  my  direction,  in  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Kennedy's  Church.  What  a  delightful  em- 
ployment, to  be  imbuing  young  minds  in  sacred  truths; 
and  how  high  the  trust,  to  be  permitted  to  make  im- 
pressions on  minds  which  neither  time  nor  cares  can 
obliterate !  Oh  that  the  Lord  would  give  me  the  souls 
of  some  of  my  class  for  my  hire,  and  make  me  true  to 
my  trust,  and  to  weep  between  the  porch  and  the  al- 
tar for  their  conversion !  Heard  Mr.  Kennedy  lecture 
on  the  first  eleven  verses  of  the  4th  of  Matthew.  "Was 
gratified  with  his  exegesis.  Some  of  his  thoughts 
practical  and  original.  I  have  many  opportunities  of 
learning,  and  hearing  the  Gospel  ably  and  faithfully 
expounded :  would  that  I  had  a  heart  more  to  profit 
by  it !     My  heart,  how  hard  and  cold  it  is ! 

"Nothing  of  special  moment  has  transpired  during 
the  past  week  to  disturb  my  happiness,  or  quicken  or 
retard  my  usefulness.  Had  the  pleasure  of  a  short 
interview  with  Mr.  Nettleton,  the  revival  reformer.  I 
long  for  a  greater  knowledge  of  him. 

"Oh  that,  as  my  years,  months,  and  Sabbaths  are 
rolling  away,  I  might  have  a  more  realizing  sense  of 
the  obligations  which  rest  on  me ;  and  that,  as  I  in- 


88  IN  THE  THEOLOGICAL   SEMINARY. 


Youth  and  age.  Sabbath. 

crease  in  years,  I  may  also  in  the  knowledge  of  my- 
self, and  of  my  Lord  and  Savior  Jesus  Christ !" 

"  Sabbath  evening,  January  13th,  1828. 

"Another  week  and  Sabbath  have  fled  forever! 
How  quick  and  ceaseless  is  the  flight  of  time!  Un- 
like the  bird  which  flies  through  the  air,  it  never  wea- 
ries, never  needs  any  rest ;  but,  like  the  stone  rolling 
down  an  endless  declivity,  it  seems,  and  really  docs, 
acquire  new  strength  as  it  proceeds.  For,  to  all  the 
world  besides  immortal  man,  time  is  nothing,  is  of  no 
value.  In  youth,  the  glow  of  health  and  buoyancy 
of  youthful  feelmg  resists  the  influence  of  Time's  with- 
ering touch ;  but  far  otherwise  in  manhood  and  yet 
riper  years :  Time's  footsteps  we  can  trace ;  he  leaves 
his  marks  behind  him.  The  whitened  locks,  the  wrin- 
kled brow,  the  tottering  step,  the  frigid  feeling,  all  pro- 
claim Time's  march,  and  add  great  strength  to  that 
whose  only  tendency  is  to  corruption.  The  man  of 
twenty  lives  one  year  in  five ;  the  man  of  sixty  lives 
five  years  in  one.  How  precious,  then,  are  youthful 
years !  If  years  are  precious,  so  are  months,  and  weeks, 
and  days,  and  hours,  and  minutes.  Oh  that  I,  at  twen- 
ty-five, may  spend  my  days  as  sober  sixty  may  ap- 
prove 1 

"How  sweet  the  Sabbath,  how  adapted  to  man's* 
condition !  How  sweet  to  tread  the  Lord's  most  sa- 
cred courts  after  six  days'  labor  I  Oh  that  these  op- 
])ortunitics  of  enjoying  the  smiles  of  God  may  be  more 
appreciated  by  me ! 

"  During  the  week  have  felt  well  in  the  discharge 
of  duty.     Duties  have  been  numerous;  increased  vorv 


m  THE   THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY.  89 

Dr.  Janeway.  Mr.  Kennedy. 

much  by  ray  duties  as  Secretary  of  the  City  Bible  As- 
sociation ;  but  the  Lord  has  given  me  strength  to  dis- 
charge them  all  with  acceptance.  To  God  be  all  the 
glory  for  my  opportunities  of  getting  and  doing  good. 
That  the  Lord  would  keep  me  from  placing  any  de- 
pendence upon  good  works  or  any  thing  else,  unless 
upon  the  all-sufficient  merits  of  Jesus  Christ  my  Lord! 

"  This  morning  heard  Dr.  Janeway  on  the  text, 
'Train  up  a  child  in  the  way  in  which  he  should 
go:'  it  was  good  and  j^ractical.  After  all,  for  the  man 
who  wishes  to  render  up  his  account  with  acceptance 
to  the  Mediator  of  the  new  covenant,  practical  preach- 
ing is  the  stuff.  Theories  may  please,  but  seldom 
profit ;  essays  may  gratify,  but  rarely  do  good  ;  learn- 
ing may  enlighten,  but  rarely  impresses.  Good,  prac- 
tical preaching  reaches  and  affects  head  and  heart. 
If  am  permitted  ever  to  enter  the  ministry,  may  I 
show  by  my  conduct  and  preaching  that  I  fully  be- 
lieve these  positions. 

"In  the  afternoon  heard  my  Bible-class,  and  Mr. 
Kennedy  preach.  There  is  much  of  a  self-denying 
spirit  necessary  to  constitute  a  good  teacher  of  youth. 
There  is  so  much  restlessness,  inattention,  stupidity, 
and  vagrancy,  that  men  of  more  than  ordinary  polar- 
ity of  feeling  are  required  to  get  along  with  them. 

"  Mr.  Kennedy's  sermon  was  on  Temptation.  He  is 
generally  good  and  sensihle.  '  The  man,'  he  said,  '  who 
parleys  with  temptation  is  gone?  This  he  proved  by 
a  reference  to  Eve.  Oh  that  I  may  be  enabled  to 
resist  the  devil,  and  he  will  flee  from  me.  May  I 
never  parley  with  the  enemy,  but  at  every  assault 


90  IN  THE   THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY. 

Mr.  Livingc^ton.  A  pilgrim. 

command  him,  -with  holy  authority,  '  Get  thee  behind 
me,  /SaicmJ  " 

"  Sabbath  evening,  January  20th,  1828. 

"During  the  past  week  I  have  been  jDrivileged  to 
do  something  in  the  way  of  sending  the  Bible  to  the 
destitute  of  the  city,  and  of  doing  good  in  other  ways 
as  God  has  given  me  opportunity.  Have  not  that 
sweet,  intimate  communion  with  God  which  I  have 
formerly  felt.  Oh  for  a  greater  and  still  greater  hun- 
gering and  thirsting  after  righteousness !  that  as  the 
hart  pants  after  the  water-brooks,  so  may  I  pant  after 
Thee,  O  my  God ! 

"  This  evening  heard  the  Eev.  Mr.  Livingston  on 
Intemperance :  never  did  I  see  a  house  more  crowded 
or  more  attentive;  it  was  a  good  sermon,  and  did  good. 
I  am  another  week  nearer  the  grave — another  nearer 
my  last  solemn  trial.  Oh,  when  my  hour  of  depart- 
ure has  come,  may  I  be  found  ready,  and  not  subject 
to  the  awful  reflections  of  weeks,  and  Sabbaths,  and 
other  opportunities  all  misspent  and  misapplied !  Dur- 
ing the  two  past  weeks  some  circumstances  of  consid- 
erable bearing  on  my  life  and  destiny  have  transpired. 
Oh  for  the  divine  direction  in  all  things  pertaining 
to  my  usefulness  and  happiness.  May  I  not  be  left  to 
myself,  to  choose  my  own  ways  or  to  guide  my  own 
footsteps.  Oh  that  I  might  continually  feel  that  I  am 
a  pilgrim  in  a  barren  land." 

"Sabbath  evening,  Feb.  3d,  1828. 

"  Through  the  tender  mercy  of  a  loving  God,  I  have 
been  spared  since  the  last  entry  I  have  made.  If  for 
the  sustaining  power  of  God  for  one  hour  I  ought  to 


IN   THE   THEOLOGICAL   SEMINARY.  91 


Prayer.  New  measures. 

be  thankful,  liow  much  more  when  that  power  is  con- 
tinued for  weeks,  months,  and  years !  Oh  God,  give 
me  a  heart  to  love  and  serve  Thee,  and  a  willing  dis- 
position to  do  Thy  will.  Subdue  my  proud  imagina- 
tions, and  humble  my  haughty  heart,  and  give  me  the 
docile  spirit  of  a  child  ;  may  I  continually  feel  and  ac- 
knowledge my  dependence. 

"At  this  time  the  Rev.  Mr,  F is  the  great  topic 

of  conversation.  To  his  preaching  and  measures  I 
feel  in  some  degree  hostile ;  may  I  be  kept  from  fight- 
ing against  God.  The  dread  of  this  sin  has,  no  doubt, 
caused  many  of  the  friends  of  true  religion  to  permit 
measures  to  pass  unnoticed  which  their  better  judg- 
ments condemned,  and  which,  on  the  whole,  ought  to 
have  been  suppressed.  On  measures  for  the  promo- 
tion of  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  as  well  as  upon  every 
thing  else  spiritual  and  temporal,  men  ought  to  exer- 
cise their  deliberate  judgment,  and  act  according  to  its 
decisions.  There  is,  to  be  sure,  a  great  difficulty  in 
forming  such  a  judgment,  but  yet  it  should  be  formed, 
and  difficulties  conquered.  Wc  are  creatures  of  pas- 
sions and  prejudices ;  and  oh  !  how  much  of  their  un- 
hallowed leaven  is  mixed  with  all  our  actions  and 
judgments;  how  great  the  amount  of  fermentation 
they  cause  in  a  life  lengthened  out  to  threescore  and 
ten! 

"There  is  great  danger  of  intermixing  passion  and 
feeling  (carnal,  I  mean)  with  the  subject  of  religion; 
and  there  is  great  danger  of  going  to  the  opposite  ex- 
treme. The  difficulty  nowadays  is,  that  some  run  to 
one  extreme  and  some  to  the  other.     The  coldness  of 


92  IN  THE   THEOLOGICAL   SEMINARY. 

Two  cxtrcmeH.  Tlic  middle  ground. 


what  is  called  the  orthodox  party  has  driven  the  oth- 
er into  tliu  fire;  and  so  pleased  are  tlicy  with  tlicii- 
temperature,  they  wish  others  to  enjoy  it  also.  The 
excesses  of  this  party  have  driven  the  other  still  far- 
ther poleward,  where  a  satisfaction  similar  to  the  oth- 
er is  engendered.  While  the  one  glows  with  feel- 
ing, the  other  is  chilled  with  intellect;  the  one  ad- 
dresses the  passions,  the  other  the  reason;  the  one 
aims  at  creating  fear,  the  other  convincing  the  under- 
standing; the  one  drives,  the  other  persuades;  the 
one  thunders  the  law,  the  other  whispers  the  mild  en- 
treaties of  the  Gospel.  This  creates  a  difference  in 
their  actions  also ;  the  profession  of  the  one  is  bold 
and  decided,  of  the  other  quiet  and  distrustful ;  the 
dependence  of  the  one  rests  much  on  their  feeling,  of 
the  other  more  upon  God ;  the  one  looks  at  God  as  a 
sovereign,  the  other  as  a  moral  governor. 

"  To  neither  of  these  extremes  do  I  wish  to  incline ; 
and,  as  Dr.  Beeeher  says  in  his  Missionary  Sermon,  the 
man  who  takes  a  central  position  is  liable  to  the  lire 
from  both  sides.  A  complete  dependence,  Lc^rd,  may 
I  have  upon  Tliec,  and  a  heart  give  Thou  to  me  to  act 
as  if  the  salvation  of  the  world  depended  on  my  ef 
forts ;  but  against  feeling  engendered  by  natural  causes 
may  I  ever  guard.  Such  unholy  fire  may  I  never  of- 
fer as  incense  to  my  God. 

"  Yesterday  the  mortal  remains  of  the  venerable  Jo- 
seph Kastburn  were  committed  to  tlic  grave — for  many 
years  the  seaman's  friend.  Such  a  public  mani Testation 
to  private  worth  I  never  witnessed.  Although  rain- 
ing heavily,  at  an  early  hour  the  streets  all  the  way 


IN    TlIK    TIIKOLOGICAL    SEMINARY.  93 

A  fmioral.  Tho  Kciimou. 

from  bis  liouse  to  Lis  grave  were  crowded  with  anx- 
ious spectators.  The  hour  of  three  came.  The  streets, 
for  miles  in  all  directions,  were  impassable.  The  oak- 
en coflin  was  taken  from  the  house  into  the  street — a 
thrill  ran  through  the  multitude  from  one  extremity 
to  the  other.  The  veteran  seamen,  for  whose  salva- 
tion he  s})ent  many  of  his  days,  were  formed  into  a 
procession,  and  the  mortal  remains  of  their  friend  com- 
mitted to  tlunii  to  be  carried  to  the  grave.  They  ap- 
proached it,  and  sighed.  They  raised  the  bier,  on 
which  rested  the  coirni,  to  th(>ir  shoulders,  and  wept. 
It  was  an  affecting  sight.  To  see  faces  hardened  by 
the  severities  of  the  ocean  wet  with  tears  was  truly 
ailoeting.  With  solemn  step  they  commenced  their 
march  to  his  last  home.  A  select  companion  carried 
a  flag  before  them.  It  was  the  Bethel  flag,  which  oft- 
en summoned  them  to  hear  the  })rayers  of  him  who 
never  bent  his  knee  before  his  Father's  throne  without 
remembering  them  who  ivent  io  the  sea  in  ships.  They 
seemed  to  vie  with  each  other  for  opportunities  to  be 
honored  with  bearing  his  remains.  They  placed  him 
in  the  grave ;  and  as  the  cold  clods  of  earth  resounded 
on  his  coffin,  signifying  that  dust  was  given  to  dust, 
they  turned  away  with  a  heavy  heart,  and  many  of 
them,  no  doubt,  retired  to  their  vessels  to  give  vent  to 
their  manly,  honest  grief. 

"In  his  procession  were  the  most  respectable  and 
intelligent  citizens  —  ministers,  lawyers,  doctors,  mas- 
ters of  vessels,  seamen  and  their  wives,  individuals  of 
all  religious  denominations;  for,  although  a  Presby- 
terian, he  was  no  sectarian.     All  jjulpits  and  places 


94  IN  THE   THEOLOGICAL   SEMINARY. 

Gone  home.  Kebukcd. 

were  open  to  him  while  alive,  and  all  hearts  mourned 
for  him  when  dead.  To  say  that  ten  thousand  wit- 
nessed his  burial  would,  in  my  estimation,  be  sajnng 
less  than  the  truth.  lie  is  gone  to  his  home.  A  com- 
mon question  of  his  to  the  pious  friends  that  visited 
him  was,  '  Have  you  any  commands  to  your  friends 
in  glory  ?     If  so,  I  will  deliver  them.' 

"  What  triumphant  faith !  For  years  previous  to 
his  decease,  which  was  accomplished  in  his  eightieth 
year,  his  last  enemy  was  vanquished.  Let  me  die  the 
death  of  the  righteous ;  let  my  last  end  be  like  his ! 
Amen  and  Amen." 

Mr.  Murray's  absence  from  the  Seminary  was  not 
agreeable  to  the  Presbytery  of  New  York,  under 
whose  care  he  was  studying  as  a  candidate  for  the 
ministry.  He  had  neglected  to  inform  them  of  the 
reasons  that,  in  his  judgment,  made  it  necessary.  lie 
had  not  deemed  it  his  duty  to  ask  their  advice  or  con- 
sent in  the  matter.  Perhaps  he  was  not  bound  by  any 
statute  to  obtain  their  sanction  before  deciding  to  in- 
terrupt his  course  of  study ;  but  it  was  certainly  be- 
coming in  him  to  do  so;  and  the  Presbytery,  taking 
that  view  ofthe  case,  directed  the  Moderator  to  write 
him  a  letter  of  inquiry  and  caution.  That  letter  was 
written,  and  received  by  Mr.  ^Murray.  It  is  not  to  be 
found  among  his  papers,  but  its  substance  and  tenor 
may  be  easily  inferred  from  the  following  reply,  which 
the  grieved  young  man  was  roused  to  return: 


IX  THE  THEOLOGICAL   SEMINARY.  95 

Reply.  Defends  himselt 

"Philadelphia,  Feb.  25th,  1828. 

"To  the  Moderator  of  tlie  New  York  Presbytery: 

"Rev.  and  dear  Sir, — I  herewitli  transmit  to  you 
the  letter  of  the  Moderator,  written  by  order  of  Pres- 
bytery, admonishing  me  for  leaving  my  studies,  and  for 
practicing  what  he  calls  ^ field  i:>reaching^  together  with 
the  letter  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Tract 
Society  in  answer  to  the  first  accusation,  and  the  testi- 
mony of  some  of  our  ministers  in  answer  to  the  other. 
It  is  hoped  these  documents  will  place  my  conduct,  in 
both  particulars,  in  a  proper  light.  If  it  is  a  deviation 
from  the  civil  and  Christian  statute  for  a  culprit  to 
vindicate  himself  after  condemnation,  in  this  case  the 
fault  is  not  mine.  I  thought  I  had  a  right  to  be  heard 
in  self-defense  before  condemnation,  but  it  seems  I  was 
mistaken. 

"My  'lay  preaching'  in  general  has  been  but  sel- 
dom ;  and  nc\^r  did  I  indulge  in  this  conduct,  w^hich 
has  such  a  tendency  'to  blast,  if  not  destroy  future  use- 
fulness,' but  at  the  earnest  request  of  settled  ministers. 
Frequently,  as  general  agent  of  the  Tract  Society,  I 
have  been  necessitated  to  make  public  addresses,  but 
as  there  is  no  specification  under  this  head,  I  suppose 
excuse  is  unnecessary.  I  should  like  to  know  if  I 
must  refrain  from  this  '  until  I  receive  the  sanction  of 
that  body  under  whose  care  I  have  placed  myself!' 

"I  may  have  erred  in  not  making  known  to  Pres- 
bytery at  its  last  session  that  '  I  had  relinquished  my 
studies  at  Princeton  for  a  time,  and  engaged  myself  in 
some  agency  in  Philadelphia.'  If  there  is  a  law  on 
that  subject,  of  its  existence  I  was  then,  and  am  now. 


96  IN   THE   THEOLOGICAL   SEMINARY. 

Resentment.  Kefusea  to  retract. 

totally  ignorant.  Consequently,  where  there  is  no  law 
there  is  no  transgression. 

"  How  long  I  shall  remain  in  my  present  situation 
I  know  not.  My  intention  now  is  to  resume  my  stud- 
ies in  Princeton  next  November.  Of  this  movement 
I  am  not  absolutely  certain.  Dependent  as  I  am  at 
present  on  my  own  resources,  I  must,  in  a  great  meas- 
ure, be  governed  by  circumstances.  I  am  now  making 
what  progress  my  arduous  duties  will  admit  in  a  reg- 
ular course  of  didactic  theology. 

"I  would  not  have  troubled  Presbytery  with  this 

letter  and  these  arguments  if  the  letter  of could 

be  silently  borne.  I  have  shown  it  to  many  individ- 
uals, and  in  no  single  instance  has  its  manner  or  spirit 
been  approved. 

"I  have  another  reason  for  troubling  Presb3'tery 
with  them.  I  have  shown  the  letter  to  some  individ- 
uals of  the  New  York  Presbytery,  who  palliate  the 
matter  by  sa3nng  that  toward  the  close  of  the  Session 
some  vague  report  of  my  misconduct  was  communi- 
cated, and  that  the  pressure  of  busmess  caused  the 
Presbytery  to  refer  the  matter  to  the  '  ^Moderator.' 
To  this  method  of  placing  the  feelings  and  peace  of  a 
young  man  in  the  hands  of  an  individual  I  object.  It 
may  sometimes  happen  that  authority  be  delegated 
to  one  who  will  not  use  it  with  moderation.  If,  in 
cases  like  mine,  counsel  is  not  given  with  Christian 
kindness,  it  ought  to  come  in  such  a  form  as  at  least 
to  make  it  respected.  When  I  offend  against  the  rules 
of  Presbytery,  or  against  the  '  law  of  love,'  I  hope  the 
Lord  will  give  me  a  heart  to  re|)ent  of  it.     But  for 


IN  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY.  97 

Dr.  Aydelotte.  Recollections. 

the  offense  alleged  in  the  present  instance  I  can  not 
manifest  any  feelings  of  regret,  because  none  exist. 
"  I  am,  reverend  sir,  yours  most  respectfully, 

"N,  Murray." 

Having  sent  this  letter  to  the  Presbytery,  he  contin- 
ued his  labors  in  Pennsylvania,  with  what  ability  and 
success  we  may  learn  from  the  following  letter  from 
the  Kev.  Dr.  Aydelotte,  of  Cincinnati : 

"Cincinnati,  March  26th,  1861. 

"  Rev.  and  dear  Sir, — I  have  seen  a  notice  that 
the  Life  of  our  beloved  departed  brother.  Rev.  Nicho- 
las Murray,  D.D.,  was  about  to  appear,  and  a  request 
that  all  who  could  would  promptly  send  to  you  let- 
ters, reminiscences,  etc.,  of  the  deceased.  Believing 
that  such  a  work  must  form  a  precious  legacy  to  the 
Church  and  the  world,  and  supposing  that  what  I  am 
about  to  say  may  throw  light  upon  the  early  devel- 
opments of  so  remarkable  a  life  and  character,  I  have 
felt  impelled  to  send  you  the  following  very  brief  rec- 
ord of  facts  and  reflections. 

"  In  the  year  1826,  I  being  then  rector  of  Grace 
Church,  Philadelphia,  the  Pennsylvania  Branch  of  the 
American  Tract  Society  was  formed.  I  took  part,  by 
request,  in  all  the  meetings  for  organization,  and  was 
put  into  the  Board  of  Directors.  The  field  of  the  new 
society's  operations  was  necessarily  very  large,  and  of 
difficult  cultivation.  It  embraced  all  Pennsylvania 
and  Delaware,  and  extended  to  the  West  indefinitely. 
Whether  the  institution  would  prove  a  failure  or  a 

E 


98  IN   THE  THEOLOGICAL   SEMINARY. 

The  agent.  Hia  euccess. 

success  depended  largely  upon  the  character  of  him 
who  might  at  the  outset  be  intrusted  with  the  super- 
intendence of  its  concerns. 

"  At  that  critical  period,  Mr.  Nicholas  Murray,  then 
a  student  in  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton, 
presented  himself  before  us  as  a  candidate  for  the  of- 
fice of  general  agent  of  the  new  society.  He  was  ap- 
parently about  twenty-two  years  of  age,  firmly  built, 
of  ruddy  countenance,  and  of  very  frank,  pleasing 
manners.  His  testimonials,  and  the  impression  made 
by  him  personally,  were  such  as  secured  his  immedi- 
ate appointment. 

"  As  one  of  the  executive  committee,  I  was  obliged 
to  visit  the  Depository  almost  daily,  and  the  newly- 
appointed  agent  continually  consulted  with  me  upon 
his  plans  and  operations,  and  upon  all  the  trials  and 
difficulties  which  beset  his  path. 

"The  result  of  this  constant  supervision  and  confer- 
ence was  an  ever-deepening  conviction  on  my  part 
that  Providence  had  favored  us  with  j  ust  the  man  we 
needed  for  a  post  so  important. 

"  He  was  indefatigable  in  application  to  the  duties 
of  his  office,  perfectly  methodical,  of  rare  prudence,  al- 
ways kind,  and  yet  ever  firm  and  faithful  to  his  con- 
victions and  the  interests  of  the  Society.  Besides  at- 
tending to  all  the  business  of  the  Depository,  and  keep- 
ing the  accounts,  he  received  and  answered  all  the  let- 
ters of  the  numerous  agents  and  colporteurs,  and  di- 
rected all  their  operations.  He  attended  also  the  meet- 
ings of  the  executive  committee,  gave  a  minute  report 
of  all  that  had  been  done  since  the  last  session,  of  the 


IN   THE   THEOLOGICAL   SEMINARY.  99 

Anti-popery.  Andrew  Dunn. 

state  and  prospects  of  the  work,  and  recommended 
new  appointments  of  laborers,  and  such  new  measures 
as  he  deemed  called  for.  None  but  a  man  of  extra- 
ordinary business  talent,  and,  I  may  add,  of  rare  con- 
stitutional energy  and  endurance,  could  have  accom- 
plished what  he  did.  The  labors  of  the  Board  were 
thus  exceedingly  lightened ;  indeed,  he  left  them  little 
to  do  beyond  approving  his  proceedings  and  measures, 

"  Let  me  here  note  the  early  manifestation  of  that 
peculiar  bent  of  mind  which  was  afterward  so  remark- 
ably developed  in  our  friend.  I  mean  his  signal  abil- 
ity and  disposition  to  controvert  Popery.  Doubtless 
this  was  owing  in  some  measure  to  his  being  a  Roman- 
ist by  birth,  his  thorough  practical  acquaintance  with 
the  influence  and  workings  of  that  system,  and  his  sub- 
sequent conversion.  This  course  of  providential  train- 
ing evidently  fitted  him  for  the  great  work  which  he 
subsequently  accomplished.  Not  long  after  entering 
upon  the  tract  agency  his  peculiar  bent  showed  itself. 
At  his  earnest  recommendation,  the  Board  published 
"The  History  of  Andrew  Dunn,"  a  narrative,  the  dis- 
tribution of  which  in  Ireland,  as  he  stated,  had  been 
so  blessed  to  the  conversion  of  Romanists  that  the 
priests  were  compelled  to  denounce  it  from  the  pulpit. 

"When  I  removed  from  Philadelphia  in  1828  to 
take  charge  of  a  church  in  this  city,  I  left  Mr.  Murray 
still  in  the  Tract  Depository.  We  parted  with  mu- 
tual kindness  and  regret.  I  felt  confident  that  if  God 
spared  his  life  he  would  do  a  great  work  for  his  Mas- 
ter, and  achieve  an  enviable  name  for  himself  I 
therefore,  from  this,  my  Western  post,  watched  his  fu- 


100  IN   THE   THEOLOGICAL   SEMINARY. 

Kim-au  Letters.  Jlodcrator. 

ture  movements  with  deep  interest.  I  rejoiced  in  the 
accounts  I  heard  from  time  to  time  of  his  labors  and 
success  at  Wilkesbarre,  and  at  the  still  greater  meas- 
ure of  usefulness  and  honor  accorded  to  him  at  Eliza- 
beth town. 

"  The  different  productions  of  his  pen,  whether  in 
separate  volumes  or  in  the  columns  of  the  New  York 
Observer,  I  always  perused,  as  soon  as  issued,  with 
deep  interest  and  profit.  But  especially  was  I  grati- 
fied with  his  'Kirwan's  Letters,'  How  admirably 
suited  to  the  popular  mind  are  these  letters !  They 
are  powerful  in  argument,  and  yet  not  at  all  heavy  in 
manner.  The  style  is  so  racy,  every  page  is  illumin- 
ated with  such  flashes  of  the  finest  natural  wit,  and 
the  whole  work  breathes  such  hearty  good-humor,  that 
the  reader  never  tires.  None  but  a  man  of  genius,  a 
scholar,  a  Christian,  and  a  true  Irish  gentleman  too, 
could  have  written  'Kirwan's  Letters.'  No  wonder 
the  archbishop  fled  so  precipitately  from  the  field. 
There  was  no  standing  before  such  volleys  of  logic, 
keen  sarcasm,  and  indignant  rebuke,  though  animated 
throughout  with  the  spirit  of  Christian  kindness,  and 
clothed  in  the  language  of  true  Christian  courtesy. 

"Dr.  Murray,  as  Moderator,  opened  the  General 
Assembly  in  Cincinnati  in  the  year  1850.  His  dis- 
tinguished reputation  as  a  preacher  and  an  author  had 
preceded  him.  His  great  honor,  it  was  soon  seen,  sat 
well  upon  him ;  there  was  nothing  arrogant,  nothing 
assuming  about  him.  He  was  the  same  frank,  genial 
brother,  only  more  matured  in  wisdom,  love,  and  oth- 
er Christian  excellences. 


IN  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY.  101 

In  Cincinnati.  Preacher  and  lecturer. 

"A  few  years  after  this,  Dr.  Murray  came  to  our 
city  by  invitation  to  lecture.  The  congregation  of 
the  Seventh  Presbyterian  Church,  which  had  then  fin- 
ished a  very  spacious  and  beautiful  edifice  for  public 
worship,  called  him  to  their  pastoral  charge. 

"  During  this  visit  he  had  much  conversation  with 
me  upon  the  call  then  in  his  hands.  He  said,  among 
other  things,  that  he  could  not  accept  it ;  that  he  was 
frightened  off;  that  he  was  expected  to  be  not  only 
pastor  of  the  church,  but  also  a  professor  in  the  The- 
ological Seminary  then  existing  in  this  city ;  that  he 
felt  himself  incompetent  to  fill  both  positions  at  the 
same  time ;  that  some  ten  or  fifteen  years  of  close 
study  might  make  him  what  he  ought  to  be  as  a  pro- 
fessor, but  that  such  application  was  inconsistent  with 
the  duties  of  the  pastoral  office,  and,  consequently,  if  he 
at  once  undertook  both,  he  would  certainly  fail,  and 
therefore  he  must  decline  the  position. 

"  I  acquiesced,  because  I  believed  his  views  eminent- 
ly judicious  and  safe.  And  yet  I  had  suggested  him 
to  the  people,  and  greatly  regretted  that  he  could  not 
come,  not  only  for  his  usefulness'  sake  in  our  city,  but 
because  I  anticipated  great  pleasure  and  profit  in  our 
future  intercourse  as  ministers  laboring  together  in 
the  same  city.  I  will  simply  add  that  both  as  a 
preacher  and  a  lecturer  he  was  heard  among  us  with 
deep  interest  by  his  crowded  audiences. 

"  Shortly  after  his  return  home  he  wrote  me  a  long 
letter,  in  which  he  spoke  of  the  good  hand  of  his  God 
upon  him  in  his  whole  journey,  in  so  upholding  him 
and  ordering  all  his  ways  that  he  was  enabled  to  fill 


102  IN  THE   THEOLOGICAL   SEMINARY. 

Humor.  Dr.  Danforth. 

every  appointment  in  the  different  cities  to  whicli  he 
had  been  invited  to  lecture.  He  expressed  his  great 
happiness  in  our  intercourse,  and  his  increasing  at- 
tachment to  me.  He  urged  me,  as  soon  as  I  could,  to 
visit  him  at  Elizabethtown ;  but  even  in  so  serious  a 
letter  his  usual  good-humor  would  gush  out  some- 
where. He  closed  with  the  playful  alliteration, '  Come, 
dear  brother,  when  you  may,  you  will  always  find  with 
me  a  pulpit,  a  plate,  and  a  pillow.'  Your  brother  and 
servant  in  the  Gospel,  B.  P.  Aydelotte." 

The  Eev.  Dr.  Joshua  N.  Danforth,  in  writing  of  Dr. 
Murray,  says : 

"  I  first  made  his  acquaintance  in  1828.  He  was 
then  a  member  of  the  Theological  Seminary,  and  agent 
of  the  Tract  Society,  with  his  head-quarters  in  Phila- 
delphia. He  filled  well  that  sphere.  Having  within 
him  a  certain  inborn  energy,  it  was  ever  developing 
itself  in  the  duties  of  his  office.  Ingenious  in  con- 
structing plans  for  the  promotion  of  that  good  cause, 
he  took  care  that  they  were  promptly  carried  into  ex- 
ecution. In  doing  such  work,  he  had  great  tact  in 
putting  to  good  use  the  faculties  and  talents  of  oth- 
ers, which  he  was  quick  to  discern.  If  he  desired  to 
raise  a  given  amount  of  money  for  a  specific  object, \ 
he  formed  his  plan  in  view  of  it,  and  steadily  pushed 
it  through  in  the  face  of  all  obstacles ;  in  fact,  they 
seemed  to  disappear,  to  melt  away  before  his  genius. 
No  man  would  have  made  a  more  admirable  secreta- 
ry of  a  benevolent  society ;  but  he  never  would  have 
been  content  with  any  employment  beneath  that  of 


IN  THE   THEOLOGICAL   SEMINARY.  103 


At  Cape  May. 


the  ministry  of  reconciliation.  Whatever  engaged 
his  attention,  he  held  that  incessantly  in  view,  and  he 
lived  to  magnify  it. 

"About  this  time  he  visited  the  celebrated  water- 
ing-place Cape  May.  Wherever  he  was,  he  sought  to 
keep  his  mind  in  action.  He  was  fond  of  discussion, 
and  skillful  in  argument.  We  were  accustomed  to 
have  preaching  every  night  at  one  of  the  public  halls, 
in  which  Murray,  though  not  yet  licensed,  took  a  great 
interest.  Crowds  attended  those  meetings ;  some,  per- 
haps, as  seasons  of  relaxation  while  away  from  home. 
A  bold  and  daring  nature  may  sometimes  be  inferred 
from  a  small  circumstance ;  and  I  confess,  when  I  look- 
ed at  some  of  the  marine  exercises  of  my  friend,  when 
I  saw  the  fearful  distance  ocean  ward  to  which  he  would 
allow  himself  to  be  carried  on  the  back  of  a  stalwart 
swimmer,  I  trembled  for  the  safety  of  a  valuable  life. 
To  him  it  was  a  joyous  pastime ;  and  when  he  return- 
ed from  Europe  I  expected  certainly  to  hear  that  he 
had  been  on  the  summit  of  Mont  Blanc ;  but  there 
are  few,  I  believe,  who  attain  to  that  elevation." 

Having  spent  a  year  and  a  half  in  the  service  of 
the  Tract  Society,  and  by  close  economy  having  made 
these  months  yield  him  a  sufficient  sum  of  well-earned 
money  to  sustain  him  through  the  remainder  of  his 
theological  course,  he  returned  to  Princeton,  and  re- 
sumed his  studies  with  the  class  he  left.  During  this 
period  of  travel,  correspondence,  lecturing,  and  teach- 
ing, he  had  been  hard  at  work,  in  his  leisure  hours, 
keeping  up  with  thexlass  in  the  Seminary. 


104  IN  THE   THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY. 

Kegular  studeut.  Private  lettei-s. 

So  successful  had  he  been  in  the  prosecution  of  the 
studies  of  his  class,  that  his  certificate  of  dismission 
from  the  Seminary,  signed  by  all  the  professors,  states 
that  he  entered  the  Seminary  Nov.  9, 1826,  and  "  that 
he  has  been  ever  since  a  regular  student  in  the  Sem- 
inary."    This  was  given  May  7, 1829. 

Extracts  from  7iis  private  Letters. 

^^Princeton,  Dec.  20,  1828.  The  year  is  coming  to  a 
close,  and  I  imperceptibly  recur  to  the  days  of  my 
boyhood,  when  the  holidays  opened  upon  me  many 
sources  of  enjoyment  and  pleasure.  With  the  thought 
many  others  are  connected.  My  early  friends  pass 
in  review  before  me ;  and  as  I  recognize  their  counte- 
nances, passing  one  after  the  other  in  the  glass  of 
memory,  I  feel  sad — sad,  as  there  is  a  probability  that 
I  shall  never  see  them  more  this  side  of  eternity.  My 
father  died  while  I  was  yet  young.  I  recollect  him 
lying  in  his  coffin.  I  remember  the  feelings  which 
possessed  me  while  following  his  remains  to  the  grave. 
It  was  near  the  New  Year  when  he  was  buried.  I  then 
thought  the  grave  in  which  he  was  buried  should  be 
mine,  when,  like  him,  I  was  cold  in  death.  But  ih.e Neio 
Year  came,  and  I  was  gay  as  ever.  Shortly  afterward 
I  became  a  clerk  in  the  store  of  a  relative  at  some  dis-^ 
tance  from  home,  where  I  spent  three  New  Years  with 
other  companions  than  those  of  my  boyhood.  Since 
the  close  of  those  years,  as  respects  me,  all  my  rela- 
tions are  as  if  in  the  grave  of  my  father.  Away  from 
country,  homo,  friends,  relatives,  I  have  spent  thirteen 
New  Years,  and  now  am  about  entering  on  another. 


IN  THE   THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY.  105 

Irish  patriotiem.  New  Year. 

Although  not  yet  twenty -six,  I  have  seen  a  checkered 
life.  I  have  seen  more  of  the  bustle  of  the  world  than 
I  wish  to  see  again.  But  I  ought  to  be  thankful.  Far 
from  home,  I  have  found  friends,  and,  as  I  hope,  a 
Savior.  In  the  midst  of  darkness  light  sprung  up, 
which  revealed  to  me  the  path  in  which  I  should  walk. 

"There  are  thoughts  and  feelings  which  present 
themselves  to  the  mind,  which,  when  unbosomed,  give 
relief  Among  these  are  thoughts  of  home  and  friends. 
The  attachment  of  the  Irish  to  their  country  is  j)ro- 
verbial.  And,  although  causes  have  operated  very 
strongly  to  weaken  this  attachment  in  me,  I  yet  feel 
it  in  some  degree,  and  delight  in  chanting  the  bold 
anthem  of  ^Erin  go  Bragh.''  " 

"e/an.  1,  1829.  The  hour  I  have  taken  for  writing 
calls  for  serious  thought  and  consideration.  While 
the  gay  and  thoughtless  dance  on  the  grave  of  their 
years  as  they  join  the  caravan  of  those  that  preceded 
them,  and  hail  with  mirth  the  commencement  of  the 
new,  it  becomes  the  serious  and  thoughtful  to  note 
time  by  its  loss,  and  to  hail  every  New  Year  as  a 
messenger  who  precedes  and  notifies  the  approach  of 
Him  who  bears  a  warrant  for  our  departure.  Al- 
though the  day  is  like  others — the  sun  unchanged — 
the  same  clear  blue  sky  enveloping  the  world,  still, 
from  the  bustling  throng,  the  joyous  countenance,  the 
sounding  knell,  we  learn  that  unwonted  thoughts  oc- 
cupy the  mind.  Some,  who  reckon  their  existence  by 
their  years^  march  slowly  in  the  procession  of  the  old, 
as  of  some  dear  friend ;  and  when  deposited  in  old 
Time's  vault,  reflect  that  with  it  they  shall  shortly 
E  2 


106  IN  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY. 

Kfvipw.  Dawning. 

rest.  Those  are  sad  because  they  are  wise.  The  be- 
ginning of  the  new  year  is  to  me  an  occasion  on  which 
I  look  down,  as  from  an  eminence,  upon  the  long  vista 
of  years.  There  are  times  when  thoughts  too  ponder- 
ous for  utterance  come  over  my  mind — when  the  past 
marches  in  review  before  me,  and  I  feel  my  situation 
to  be  somewhat  like  that  of  a  mariner  on  a  plank: 
my  mates  (I  mean  my  early  ones)  are  gone  down ; 
from  the  fleet  with  which  I  commenced  the  voyage  of 
life  I  am  separated,  and  looking  abroad,  as  I  have  been 
this  day,  on  the  wide  ocean,  I  see  not  even  their  wreck 
in  view.  Oh !  let  me  then  be  wise,  and  as  my  years, 
like  sands,  are  running,  forget  not  that  with  trumpet 
tongue  they  proclaim  a  shortening  life." 

''Feb.  20,  1829.  Yesterday  and  to-day  I  have  been 
striving  to  bring  a  ruffle  on  the  dead  sea  of  feeling, 
but  in  vain.  This  is  to  me  a  strange  and  unaccounta- 
ble state  of  mind,  as  I  am  not  given  to  melanchol3^ 
But  the  proverb  is,  'It  is  the  darkest  hour  just  before 
daylight.'  I  hope,  for  one,  there  is  a  sun  in  the  clouds 
which  will  shortly  pour  its  cheering  beams  on  me.  I 
feel  at  times  as  if  the  enjoyment  of  such  feelings  was 
a  luxury.  There  is  something  in  a  continuous  flow 
of  feeling  which  is  buoyant  and  pleasant;  it  gives  a 
sweetness  to  the  sweets  of  life,  and  frequently  gilds 
prospects  that  otherwise  would  be  gloomy  enough. 
But  the  uninterrupted  enjoyment  of  such  a  state  is 
not  desirable.  We  are  carried  along  by  it  uncon- 
sciously like  a  man  asleep  in  a  ship.  We  desire  to 
look  on  the  sunny  side  of  every  object,  and  to  dwell 
more  on  fancied  than  real  life.     Our  tone  of  feeling 


m  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY.  107 

The  blues.  Deep  waterf. 

becomes  monotonous,  and  wc  live  like  the  insect  that 
revels  in  the  light,  and  sleeps  when  it  has  retired. 
Living  so,  life  is  no  luxury.  The  man  who  eats  from 
the  same  dish  every  day  has  his  appetite  satisfied,  but 
no  more:  vary  his  dishes,  and  his  taste  will  become 
interested.  Thus  it  is  very  much  with  life.  The  her- 
mit, after  a  long  seclusion  from  social  man,  on  his  re- 
turn (unless  his  feelings  in  the  mean  time  are  soured) 
enjoys  friendly  intercourse,  and  when  tired  again  en- 
joys his  retreat.  I  have  often  observed  that  those 
habituated  to  depression  of  spirits  have  usually  a  more 
intimate  acquaintance  with  themselves  than  others. 
This  has  led  me  farther  to  remark  that  what  we  usually 
term  blues  may  be  the  state  of  a  man  who  has  abstract- 
ed himself  from  the  world  around  him,  and  retired 
into  himself,  for  the  purpose  of  studying  that  divine 
mechanism  which  has  so  wisely  adjusted  every  chord 
in  our  system  to  its  particular  function,  and  placed 
them  all,  in  their  almost  infinite  and  complicated  va- 
riety, under  the  control  of  the  will.  This,  to  me,  would 
be  a  pleasing  theory  if  I  found  myself  within  myself, 
if  I  found  my  hidden  nature  developing  itself  in  great- 
er strength  and -resolution  to  use  every  talent  God  has 
given  me  for  His  glory,  and  to  the  elevating  to  the  dig- 
nity of  the  sons  of  God  our  species.  From  the  world 
we  can  expect  nothing.  Its  breath  is  cold  and  chilling, 
and  its  ruling  passion  selfishness." 

"  My  life  has  been  a  diversified  one.  I  have  passed 
through  deep  waters,  but  they  have  not  overwhelmed 
me.  I  have  been  in  the  wilderness,  and  yet  felt  not 
its  dreariness.     I  was  early  separated  from  the  fleet 


108  IN   THE   THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY. 

Voyage  of  life.  The  student. 

with  which  I  commenced  the  voyage  of  life,  and 
thrown  on  the  wide  ocean,  a  toy  for  its  billows  to  play 
with,  and  that,  too,  without  pilot,  rudder,  anchor,  or 
polar  star  to  pierce  the  clouds  that  gathered  around 
me,  and  yet  I  have  been,  by  infinite  mercy,  preserved 
to  mix  with  the  friends  of  religion,  and  to  lend  my 
feeble  talent  to  vindicate  the  ways  of  God  to  man." 

"  You  have  often  heard  that  the  course  of  the  sci- 
entific man  and  student  are  more  barren  of  interest- 
ing incidents  than  that  of  any  other  class  of  men. 
Shut  out  from  the  world  as  they  are,  and  from  the 
communion  of  men,  their  history  is  known  only  to 
themselves,  and  the  novelty  with  which  they  are  con- 
versant is  only  that  of  diversified  thought  and  variety 
of  opinions.  This  is  truly  my  case.  "Were  it  neces- 
sary or  expedient,  I  could  tell  you  something  about 
the  Socinian  controversy,  respecting  the  learned  Fa- 
thers many  a  long  story,  but  in  reference  to  the  mov- 
ing, mixing  men  around  me  I  am  in  prison.  The 
walls  of  my  little  square  room  bound  my  horizon ; 
my  companions  are  the  mental  remains  of  the  depart- 
ed; my  employment,  cogitation.  Through  the  same 
unvaried  scenes  I  have  daily  to  pass ;  along  the  same 
beaten  path  I  have  daily  to  walk ;  with  the  same  com-^ 
panions  I  have  daily  to  mix,  and  with  the  same  stub- 
born heart  daily  and  hourly  to  contend.  When  wea- 
ried with  study  I  leave  my  books.  "When  my  mind 
regains  its  elasticity  I  return  to  them  with  renewed 
ardor.  That '  all  beside  the  present  hour  is  a  mere  feath- 
er on  the  torrent's  side'  is  more  poetical  than  trua 


IN  THE  THEOLOGICAL   SEMINARY.  109 

Prospects.  Hopes. 

That  we  have  no  lease  of  life  is  acknowledged,  but  not 
that  we  may  expend  it  as  a  profligate  does  his  money, 
and  live  to-day  regardless  of  the  good  we  may  do  to- 
morrow. If  this  were  not  fallacious,  I  should  not  be 
here  poring  over  old  Latin  theology,  collecting  men- 
tal treasure  from  the  mines  of  antiquity.  If  prospect- 
ive usefulness  is  a  mere  feather  on  the  torrent's  side, 
it  is  a  situation  highly  perilous ;  and,  if  true,  I  should 
break  away  from  those  halls  erected  for  the  education 
of  the  prophets,  and  launch  into  the  world.  What 
holds  me  here?  A  desire  oi prospective  usefulness. 
And  it  is  this  desire  that  gives  energy  to  study,  invig- 
orates my  prayers,  cheers  my  heart,  and  enables  me 
to  wade  through  the  rubbish  of  antiquity  for  the  pur- 
pose of  collecting  and  digesting  materials  for  future 
use.  I  will  pray  for  future  and  extensive  usefulness. 
Hope  is  an  anchor  to  the  soul  both  sure  and  stead- 
fast ;  and  if  the  comfort  it  administers  is  taken  away, 
earth  becomes  a  prison-house,  into  which  not  a  ray  of 
light  enters  to  cheer  its  prisoners." 


110  THE   MEN  WHO   TAUGHT  HIM. 

Men  of  the  Seminar)-.  Dr.  Alexander. 


CHAPTER  YI. 

Sketches  of  the  Professors  Archibald  Alexander,  D.D.,  and  Samnel 
Miller,  D.D. — Their  Influence  on  Mr.  Murray's  future  Character. 
— His  grateful  Recollections  of  their  Instruction  and  Example. 

If  the  power  of  Dr.  Griffin  was  felt  and  seen  -while 
Mr.  Murray  was  in  college,  rapidly  and  wonderfully 
developing  and  cultivating  his  intellectual  faculties, 
and  preparing  him  for  his  useful  career,  not  less  was 
the  influence  on  his  mental  and  moral  training  by  the 
venerable  men  at  whose  feet  he  sat  in  the  seminary  at 
Princeton.  Having  read  his  recollections  of  the  pres- 
ident, we  will  here  recall  the  account  which  he  gave 
in  after  life  of  the  venerable  professors,  whose  inti- 
mate friendship  he  enjoyed  from  the  time  he  was  their 
pupil  till  they  ceased  to  live  on  earth. 

THE  REV.  ARCHIBALD  ALEXANDER,  D.D. 

A    LETTER    TO    A    FRIEND. 

"  My  dear  Sir, — The  true  idea  of  Dr.  Archibald 
Alexander  must  be  ever  confined  to  those  who  knew 
him,  and  who  were  capable  of  appreciating  his  charac^ 
ter;  and  that  idea,  even  with  such,  like  the  idea  of  the 
true  or  the  beautiful,  is  more  easily  felt  than  expressed. 
You  ask  me  to  give  you  my  idea  of  him.  It  is  im' 
possible  for  me  to  transfer  it  to  paper  just  as  it  lies 
enshrined  in  my  own  mind ;  but,  for  the  sake  of  those 
who  never  saw  or  knew  him,  and  who  may  desire  a 


THE   MEN  WHO  TAUGHT  HIM.  Ill 

First  sight.  Firet  sermon. 

portrait  of  the  man,  I  will  make  the  attempt  to  com- 
ply with  your  request. 

"  My  first  sight  of  the  man  and  interview  with  him 
was  in  the  month  of  November,  1826.  My  first  feel- 
ing was  that  of  disappointment.  He  was  small  of 
stature,  rather  slender  in  person,  negligent  in  dress, 
rather  reserved  in  company,  and  with  a  voice  in  con- 
versation pitched  on  a  higher  key  than  ordinary,  and 
rather  inclining  to  a  squeak.  Having  just  passed  from 
under  the  tuition  of  Dr.  Griffin,  the  contrast  between 
my  past  and  future  teacher  was  too  great  not  to  be 
felt  at  the  moment.  He  placed  me,  however,  by  his 
kind  and  cordial  manner,  soon  at  ease ;  and  as  he  was 
reading  my  introductions  and  papers,  I  sought,  as  well 
as  I  could,  to  read  his  person  and  countenance.  I  soon 
concluded  that  his  broad  and  strongly-marked  fore- 
head, his  dark  and  penetrating  eye,  his  brief  but  com- 
prehensive questions,  and  his  rapid  conceptions,  meant 
something;  and  I  left  his  room  deeply  interested  and 
impressed  by  the  interview.  On  the  next  Sabbath, 
in  the  afternoon,  I  heard  him,  for  the  first  time,  preach 
in  the  oratory  of  the  Seminary.  He  spoke  sitting  in 
his  chair.  He  read  a  passage  of  Scripture,  and  then, 
as  was  his  manner,  raising  his  spectacles  from  his  eyes 
to  his  head,  he  commenced  talking.  His  voice  was 
peculiar,  and  his  manner;  his  matter  was  simple.  As 
he  progressed,  I  became  interested — absorbed.  Al-  X 
t'lough  seated  in  the  middle  of  the  room,  and  in  the 
midst  of  students,  I  thought  he  was  preaching  to  me, 
and  revealing  the  very  secrets  of  my  heart;  and  as 
his  penetrating  eye  glanced  from  seat  to  seat,  I  in- 


112  THE   MEN   WHO  TAUGHT  HIM, 

True  greatness.  Accomplishments. 

stinctivelj  shrunk  behind  the  person  that  sat  before 
me,  in  order  to  avoid  his  reading  me  through  and 
through.  That  first  sermon  I  have  never  forgotten. 
As  a  preacher  to  the  conscience  and  to  the  experience 
of  men,  I  have  never  known  or  read  of  his  superior. 
While  under  his  instructions,  my  esteem  grew  into 
respect,  my  respect  into  love,  and  my  love  into  admi- 
ration of  the  man ;  and  my  intercourse  with  him  in 
subsequent  years,  on  more  equal  terms,  and  on  a  wider 
platform  than  that  of  a  student,  has  left  the  impression 
on  my  heart,  that  in  all  the  elements  of  true  greatness 
the  Church  of  Christ  has  had  but  few  such  ministers. 

" '  What  makes  you  think  Dr.  Alexander  a  great 
man  ?'  said  rather  a  captious  minister  to  me  one  day. 
'That  is  a  question  I  never  thought  of,'  was  my  reply. 
And  the  question  was  a  natural  one  for  persons  to  ask 
who  but  occasionally  saw  him,  and  who  heard  him 
but  occasionally  preach.  He  was  not  eloquent,  like 
Chalmers  and  Eobert  Hall ;  he  was  not  learned,  like 
Bentley  and  Porson ;  he  was  not  polished  to  cold  ele- 
gance, like  Blair,  nor  into  crimson  gorgeousness,  like 
Melville ;  nor  was  his  a  courtly  polish  of  manner  in 
public  or  in  private,  which  often  makes  weak  men 
quite  impressive.  In  what,  then,  you  will  ask,  con- 
sisted that  emphatic  character  which  so  deeply  ipfi- 
pressed  itself  upon  all  who  ever  knew  him,  and,  in- 
deed, upon  his  age  ?  In  a  rare  combination  of  char- 
acteristics, so  nicely  blended  as  to  conceal  each  other, 
and  as  yet  to  make  an  almost  perfect  whole. 

"  He  was  a  man,  if  not  of  various,  of  solid  learning. 
To  this  all  his  students  and  his  works  testify.    He  was 


THE   MEN  WHO  TAUGHT  HIM.  113 

Simplicity.  Man  of  Scripture. 

a  child  of  nature  in  all  his  habits ;  in  his  modes  of 
thought,  in  his  manner  of  expression,  in  his  tones  of 
voice,  in  his  gestures,  in  his  keen  wit,  in  his  occasional 
sarcasms,  in  his  very  laugh,  he  was  perfectly  natural. 
It  would  seem  as  if  the  idea  of  doing  a  thing  genteel- 
ly, or  according  to  rule,  or  for  effect,  was  never  before 
him.  This  was  one  of  the  highest  charms  of  his  char- 
acter. He  was  a  man  of  godly  sincerity.  He  had  no 
concealed  ends — no  hidden  plans  to  produce  future 
results.  He  manifested  all  that  he  felt.  In  an  inter- 
course with  him,  of  more  or  less  frequency,  for  twen- 
ty-five years,  some  of  which  was  confidential,  I  have 
never  known  him  to  advocate  policy.  His  was  the 
most  simple-hearted  piety;  he  read  the  Bible  like  a 
child,  and  he  exercised  a  simple  faith  in  all  it  taught 
and  promised.  There  was  no  effort  to  explain  away 
its  doctrines,  or  to  modify  its  principles  by  the  teach- 
ings of  philosophy,  falsely  so  called.  He  was  a  meta- 
physician, and  yet  all  the  metaphysics  and  German 
mysticism  upon  earth  weighed  not  a  feather  with  him 
against  one  simple  text  of  Scripture  fairly  interpreted. 
His  mind  and  heart  were  imbued  with  divine  truth, 
and  his  experience  of  its  power  was  rich  and  ripe.  He 
had  a  sympathizing  heart ;  no  person  ever  resorted  to 
him  in  vain  for  counsel  or  aid.  He  entered  into  your 
circumstances  and  feelings,  and  soon  felt  as  you  felt. 
Indeed,  I  have  known  his  sympathies  produce  in  him 
a  nervous  excitement,  so  as  greatly  to  interrupt  his 
comfort.  He  knew  when  to  speak  and  when  to  be 
silent.  It  was  in  the  month  of  January,  1842,  he  came 
to  my  bereaved  family  to  bury  one  of  our  children, 


114  THE   MEN  WHO  TAUGHT  HIM. 

Last  address.  Going  home. 

the  second  taken  from  us  within  a  few  days.  He  sat 
by  my  side  without  saying  a  word  for  some  time ;  at 
length,  breaking  the  silence,  he  uttered  this  memora- 
ble exjDression :  '  I  have  not  come  to  comfort  you,  my 
friend ;  the  Lord  only  can  comfort  you ;'  and  again  a 
long  silence  ensued.  After  the  emotions  excited  by 
our  first  meeting  subsided,  the  conversation  became 
natural,  and  on  his  part  instructive  and  greatly  com- 
forting. He  was  a  preacher  of  the  rarest  excellence ; 
natural,  scriptural, pungent,  experimental,  and,  at  times, 
overwhelming  in  his  application  of  truth  to  the  saint 
and  to  the  sinner.  Nor  had  he  lost  any  of  his  inter- 
est down  to  old  age.  The  last  address  I  ever  heard 
from  him  was  made  to  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey,  at 
its  meeting  in  Elizabethtown  in  1850,  and  I  never 
heard  a  better  one,  or  one  that  more  deeply  interested 
his  crowded  audience.  As  a  professor  of  theology,  he 
was  able,  discriminating,  sound  in  the  faith,  and  most 
ardently  attached  to  the  great  doctrines  of  grace ;  and 
as  a  teacher,  he  was  as  a  father  to  his  pupils.  Their 
location,  their  joys  and  their  sorrows,  their  failures 
and  successes,  seemed  all  known  to  him ;  their  names 
seemed  ever  before  him,  and  he  never  met  them  but 
with  paternal  emotions.  His  death  was  just  like  his 
life  —  calm,  natural,  collected,  and  pleasant.  Non^ 
would  have  it,  indeed,  otherwise.  There  was  no  pain 
of  body  —  no  anxiety  of  mind  —  no  fears  as  to  th© 
Church.  His  family  was  all  around  him.  The  Syn- 
od of  New  Jersey  was  in  session.  His  beloved  sem- 
inary was  flourishing.  '  My  work,'  said  he,  '  is  done, 
and  it  is  best  I  should  go  home.'     And  he  went  home. 


THE   MEN  WHO  TAUGHT  HIM.  115 

Rev.  Dr.  Miller.  Popularity. 

And  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey,  and  many  ministers 
from  other  synods,  and  from  distant  places,  carried 
him  to  his  burial." 


KEV.  SAMUEL  MILLER,  D.D. 
"Among  the  most  polished,  popular,  and  learned 
ministers  that  have  adorned  the  American  Church 
was  the  Eev.  Dr.  Samuel  Miller.  In  stature  of  the 
medium  size,  formed  with  remarkable  symmetry,  with 
mild  blue  eye,  bald  head,  high  forehead,  and  a  coun- 
tenance remarkably  bland  and  prepossessing,  he  im- 
mediately commanded  the  respect  of  all  with  whom 
he  came  in  contact.  His  politeness  was  such  as  to 
gain  for  him  the  sobriquet  of  the  American  Chester- 
field; his  affability  was  such  as  to  attract  even  the 
fondling  attention  of  children ;  so  ready  was  he  in 
conversation,  and  so  full  of  anecdote,  as  to  make  him 
the  attractive  centre  of  every  circle  which  he  graced 
with  his  presence ;  and  so  wise  and  prudent  was  he 
withal,  that  his  advice  and  counsels  were  sought  by 
his  brethren  and  by  the  churches  as  if  he  were  an  or- 
acle. In  his  youth  he  was  greatly  popular  as  a  preach- 
er, and  down  to  the  close  of  his  long  life  was  remark- 
ably solemn  and  instructive.  Thoroughly  evangel- 
ical and  devotedly  pious,  his  ministrations  were  sought 
beyond  those  of  almost  any  of  his  contemporaries.  He 
was  a  man  of  varied  learning — of  retentive  memory ; 
was  a  graceful,  easy,  and  polished  writer,  and,  to  as 
great  an  extent  as  almost  any  man  of  his  day,  enjoyed 
both  an  American  and  European  reputation.  He  was 
a  voluminous  author,  an  able  controvertist,  a  fine  ec- 


116  THE   MEN   WHO  TAUGHT  HIM. 


clesiastical  historian,  and  an  able  and  beloved  profess- 
or in  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton,  from  its 
foundation  to  the  close  of  his  long  and  brilliant  life. 
Dignified  without  haughtiness,  condescending  without 
descending,  affable  without  garrulity,  polite  without 
t^  cold  correctness  which  chills,  firm  in  his  opinions 
without  bigotry,  catholic  without  any  approach  to  lat- 
itudinarianism,  and  remarkably  generous  in  all  his 
sympathies,  he  made  even  his  enemies  to  be  at  peace 
with  him,  and  embalmed  his  memory  in  the  hearts  of 
all  good  men  ;  and  the  hundreds  of  students  that  en- 
joyed his  instructions  as  a  professor,  while  they  rev- 
erenced him  as  a  teacher,  loved  him  as  a  father. 

"The  Historical  Society  of  New  Jersey  met  at 
Princeton,  now  a  place  of  patriotic,  and  classic,  and 
sacred  associations.  It  was  a  noble  gathering  of  men 
distinguished  in  their  various  professions  as  jurists, 
advocates,  professors,  and  divines;  and  there  was  a 
most  cordial  greeting  and  commingling  of  these  his- 
toric associates.  All  differences  in  sentiments,  profes- 
sions, and  politics  were  laid  aside  while  in  the  pursuit 
of  the  one  common  object  of  honoring  New  Jersey 
by  collecting  materials  for  its  history,  and  to  rescue 
fi'om  oblivion  the  names  of  her  many  heroic  and  dis- 
tinguished sons.  \ 

"  But  one  was  absent  who  had  rarely  been  absent 
before,  and  who  was  one  of  the  founders  and  vice- 
presidents  of  the  Society ;  one  whose  bland  and  pol- 
ished manners  always  attracted  regard,  and  whose  ven- 
erable aspect  always  deeply  impressed.  His  absence 
from  the  meeting,  and  in  the  town  of  his  residence, 


THE   MEN   WHO   TAUGHT   HIM.  117 

Interview.  Message. 

excited  inquiry ;  and  when  it  was  announced  that  Dr. 
Miller  was  very  seriously  sick,  there  was  in  the  meet- 
ing a  deep  expression  of  sorrow  and  sympathy.  It 
was  solemnly  felt  by  all  that  in  those  historic  gather- 
ings we  should  see  his  face  no  more. 

"  His  son  conveyed  to  me  a  message  from  his  father 
that  he  would  like  to  see  me  on  the  morning  of  the 
next  day,  if  convenient.  The  hour  of  our  interview 
was  fixed ;  and,  as  other  engagements  required  punc- 
tuality, I  was  there  at  the  moment ;  but,  as  the  bar- 
ber had  just  entered  the  room,  he  was  not  quite  ready 
to  see  me,  and  he  sent  requesting  me  to  wait  half  an 
hour.  This  my  other  engagements  absolutely  for- 
bade; and  on  sending  him  word  to  that  effect,  he  in- 
vited me  to  his  room.  As  I  entered  it,  the  picture 
which  presented  itself  was  truly  impressive.  The 
room  was  his  library,  where  he  had  often  counseled, 
cheered,  and  instructed  me.  There,  bolstered  in  a 
chair,  feeble,  wan,  and  haggard,  was  my  former  teach- 
er and  friend,  one  half  of  his  face  shaven,  with  the 
soap  on  the  other  half,  and  the  barber  standing  behind 
his  chair.  The  old  sweet  smile  of  welcome  played 
upon  his  face,  and  having  received  his  kind  hand  and 
greetings,  he  requested  me  to  take  a  seat  by  his  side. 
His  message  was  a  brief  one ;  he  had  written  a  history 
of  the  Theological  Seminary  for  the  Historical  Socie- 
ty which  was  not  yet  printed,  and  he  wished  an  un- 
important error  into  which  he  thought  he  had  fallen 
to  be  corrected ;  and,  that  there  might  be  no  mistake, 
he  wished  me  to  write  it  down,  thus  showing  his  rul- 
ing passion  for  even  verbal  accuracy.     When  his  ob- 


118  THE   MEN   WHO   TAUGHT   HIM. 

Reflections.  Solemn  scene. 

ject  in  sending  for  me  was  gained,  he  then,  in  a  most 
composed  and  intensely  solemn  manner,  thus  address- 
ed me: 

" '  My  dear  brother,  my  sands  are  almost  run,  and 
this  will  be,  probably,  our  last  interview  on  earth.  Our 
intercourse,  as  professor  and  pupil,  and  as  ministers, 
has  been  one  of  undiminished  affection  and  confidence. 
I  am  just  finishing  my  course;  and  my  only  regrets 
are  that  I  have  not  served  my  precious  Master  more 
fervently,  sincerely,  and  constantly.  Were  I  to  live 
my  life  over  again,  I  would  seek  more  than  I  have 
done  to  know  nothing  but  Christ.  The  burdens  that 
some  of  us  have  borne  in  the  Church  will  now  devolve 
upon  you  and  your  brethren ;  see  to  it  that  you  bear 
them  better  than  we  have  done,  and  with  far  greater 
consecration ;  and  as  this  will,  no  doubt,  be  our  last 
mterview  here,  it  will  be  well  to  close  it  with  praj^cr. 
As  I  am  too  feeble  to  kneel,  you  will  excuse  me  if  I 
keep  my  chair.' 

"  I  drew  my  chair  before  him,  and  knelt  at  his  feet. 
The  colored  barber  laid  aside  his  razor  and  brush,  and 
knelt  by  his  side.  As  he  did  not  indicate  which  of  us 
was  to  lead  in  prayer,  I  inferred,  because  of  his/eeble- 
ness,  that  it  would  be  right  for  me  to  do  so ;  and  while 
seeking  to  compose  my  own  mind  and  feelings  to  thcN 
effort,  I  was  relieved  by  hearing  his  own  sweet,  feeble, 
melting  accents.  His  prayer  was  brief,  but  unuttera-^ 
bly  touching  and  impressive.  lie  commenced  it  by 
thanksgiving  to  God  for  Uis  great  mercy  in  calling  us 
into  the  fellowship  of  the  saints,  and  then  calling  us 
into  the  ministry  of  His  Son.     He  then  gave  thanks 


THE   MEN   WHO   TAUGHT   HIM.  119 

llis  prayer.  Effect. 

that  we  ever  sustained  to  one  another  the  relation  of 
pupil  and  teacher,  and  for  our  subsequent  pleasant  in- 
tercourse as  ministers  of  the  Gospel.  He  thanked  God 
for  the  many  years  through  which  He  permitted  him 
to  live,  and  for  any  good  which  He  enabled  him  to  do. 
'And  now,  Lord,'  said  he,  'seeing  that  Thine  aged, 
imperfect  servant  is  about  being  gathered  to  his  fa- 
thers, let  his  mantle  fall  upon  Thy  young  servant,  and 
far  more  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ  than  he  has  ever  en- 
joyed. Let  the  years  of  Thy  servant  be  as  the  years 
of  his  dying  teacher ;  let  his  ministry  be  more  devoted, 
more  holy,  more  useful ;  and  when  he  comes  to  die, 
may  he  have  fewer  regrets  to  make  in  reference  to  his 
closing  ministrations.  We  are  to  meet  no  more  on 
earth  ;  but  when  Thy  servant  shall  follow  his  aged  fa- 
ther to  the  grave,  may  we  meet  in  heaven,  there  to  sit, 
and  shine,  and  sing  with  those  who  have  turned  many 
to  righteousness,  who  have  washed  their  robes  and 
made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  Amen.' 
"  I  arose  from  my  knees,  melted  as  is  wax  before  the 
fire.  My  full  heart  sealed  my  lips.  Through  my  flow- 
ing tears  I  took  my  last  look  of  my  beloved  teacher, 
the  counselor  of  my  early  ministry,  the  friend  of  my 
ripening  years,  and  one  of  the  most  lovely  and  loved 
ministers  with  which  God  has  ever  blessed  the  Church. 
Every  thing  impressed  me:  the  library,  his  position, 
the  barber ;  his  visage,  once  full  and  fresh,  now  sallow 
and  sunken ;  his  great  feebleness,  his  faithfulness,  his 
address,  and,  above  all,  that  prayer,  never,  never  to  be 
forgotten !  He  extended  his  emaciated  hand  from  un- 
der the  white  cloth  that  draped  from  his  breast  to  his 


120  THE   MEN   WHO   TAUGHT   HIM. 

In  Death.  Recollections. 

knees,  and  taking  mine,  gave  me  bis  parting,  his  last 
benediction.  That  address — tbat  prayer — tbat  bless- 
ing, have  made  enduring  impressions.  It  was  the 
most  solemn  and  instructive  last  interview  of  my  life. 

"  When  I  next  saw  him  he  was  sleeping  in  his  coffin 
in  the  front  parlor  of  his  house,  where  he  often,  with 
distinguished  urbanity  and  hospitality,  entertained, 
instructed,  and  delighted  his  friends.  That  parlor  was 
crowded  by  distinguished  strangers,  and  by  many  of 
his  former  pupils,  who  mourned  for  him  as  for  a  fa- 
ther— for  a  father  he  was  to  them  all.  And  as  they 
passed  around  to  take  a  parting  sight  of  his  counte- 
nance, from  which  even  death  could  not  remove  its  ac- 
customed placid,  benevolent  smile,  their  every  bosom 
heaved  with  intense  emotion,  their  eyes  were  suffused 
with  tears ;  and  could  every  tongue  utter  the  emotions 
of  their  hearts,  it  would  be  in  the  language  of  Elisha 
when  he  gazed  on  Elijah  ascending  before  him  unto 
heaven,  '  My  father,  my  father,  the  chariot  of  Israel, 
and  the  horsemen  thereof.' 

"  His  death  was  as  calm  and  triumphant  as  his  life 
was  pure,  disinterested,  and  lovely ;  and  as  pious  men 
carried  him  to  his  burial,  and  as  we  covered  up  his  re- 
mains under  the  clods  of  the  valley,  the  prayer  arose 
at  least  from  one  heart,  '  May  I  live  the  life  of  this 
righteous  man,  and  let  my  last  end  be  like  his.' 

"  There  are  many  scenes  in  the  life  of  Dr.  Miller  that 
memory  frequently  recalls — scenes  in  the  class-room, 
in  the  General  Assembly,  in  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey, 
in  the  pulpit,  in  the  social  party — scenes  which  occur- 
red during  the  conflict  of  parties,  and  in  the  frank  and 


THE  MEN  WHO  TAUGHT  HIM,  121 

Like  himself.  Great  ecene. 

unrestrained  intercourse  of  social  life.  In  them  all 
Dr.  Miller  was  pre-eminently  like  himself.  But  the 
scene  by  which  I  most  love  to  recall  him,  and  which 
memory  most  frequently  recalls,  is  that  parting  scene 
in  his  study.  Oh,  may  that  parting  prayer  be  an- 
swered 1" 

F 


122  CONFLICTING   CALLS. 

Licensed  to  preach.  I'ir^t  sermon. 


CHAPTER  YII. 

Licensed  to  Preach  the  Gospel. — Labors  as  a  Domestic  Missionary. 
— Conflicting  Calls. — Offers  of  Secretaryships. — Passages  from  his 
Diary. — Recollections  of  his  Youth. — His  first  Sermon. — Sketch  of 
Ashbel  Green,  D.D. — Goes  to  Wilkesbarre. — His  Call. — Remark- 
able Reply. 

"  I  CONTINUED  my  studies  in  Princeton  until  April 
of  the  present  year  (1829),  when  I  was  licensed  to 
preach  the  Gospel  by  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia. 
The  period  of  my  licensure  was  to  me  one  of  great 
interest.  The  ministry  was  brought  home  to  my  door 
which  for  years  I  had  been  viewing  at  a  distance.  I 
was  licensed  in  Frankfort,  Pa.,  in  the  church  of  Mr. 
Biggs.  I  think  I  felt  an  unwonted  spirit  of  prayer  on 
the  occasion.  My  first  sermon  was  on  the  Sabbath 
after  licensure,  in  the  church  of  Dr.  Ely.  Many  of 
my  special  friends  came  out  to  hear  me.  I  felt  much 
agitated,  but  the  Lord  was  truly  with  me.  Dr.  Green 
came  into  the  pulpit  to  me,  and  made  a  prayer  at 
the  conclusion  that  warmed  my  heart.  I  returned  to 
Princeton,  where  I  remained  until  the  middle  of  May,  \ 
when  Mrs.  Janvier,  with  whom  I  boarded,  died,  and  I 
returned  to  Philadelphia;  and,  having  a  Presbyterial 
appointment  at  Norristown  for  six  weeks,  I  proceeded 
to  fulfill  it.  After  preaching  three  of  my  Sabbaths,  I 
sent  the  Rev.  Wells  May  to  take  my  place,  and  on  the 
8th  of  June  accepted  an  appointment  of  a  mission  from 


CONFLICTING   CALLS.  123 


Montrose. 


the  Board  of  Missions  of  the  General  Assembly  to  the 
borough  of  Wilkesbarre,  Pa.,  for  two  months.  Hav- 
ing preached  the  amount  of  time  specified,  a  call  was 
put  into  my  hands  from  the  churches  of  Wilkesbarre 
and  Kingston  to  become  their  pastor.  [Kingston  was 
just  across  the  Susquehanna  Eiver,  and  connected  by 
a  bridge  with  Wilkesbarre.]  As  it  was  the  first  I 
had  formally  received,  I  knew  not  what  to  do.  The 
Church  of  Wilkesbarre  was  congregational,  and  other- 
wise in  peculiar  circumstances.  But  I  concluded  to 
leave  the  result  to  Providence.  I  went  to  Philadel- 
phia for  the  purpose  of  giving  myself  time  to  consider 
the  matter.  Between  me  and  the  committee  several 
letters  passed,  which  resulted  in  my  acceptance  of 
the  call.  On  Thursday,  the  24th  September  (1829), 
I  returned  to  Wilkesbarre  by  the  way  of  Easton, 
and  commenced  my  labors  as  the  pastor  of  the  two 
churches." 

This  year  was  one  of  great  anxiety.  While  he  was 
looking  forward  with  interest  and  hope  to  the  pastoral 
work,  he  was  perplexed  by  other  and  conflicting  calls. 
Among  his  letters  we  find  one  assuring  him  that  the 
people  of  Montrose,  Pa.,  would  give  him  an  invitation 
to  settle  with  them,  if  he  would  encourage  them  that 
he  would  favorably  entertain  the  proposal.  But  this 
suggestion  did  not  embarrass  him.  The  American 
Tract  Society,  in  whose  service  he  had  been  so  effi- 
cient,  sought  to  secure  him  as  a  permanent  agent;  and 
had  he  yielded  to  the  repeated  and  pressing  invitations 
from  this  quarter,  the  whole  course  of  his  future  life 
would  have  been  changed.     At  the  same  time,  the 


124  CONFLICTING  CALLS. 

Secretary.  Declines. 

Presbyterian  Board  of  Education  elected  him,  before 
he  was  licensed  to  preach,  to  be  assistant  correspond- 
ing secretary  and  general  agent.  The  Executive  Com- 
mittee then  consisted  of  the  Eev.  Ezra  Stiles  Ely,  D.D., 
chairman,  Eev.  Dr.  Engles,  Messrs.  Alexander  Henry, 
Solomon  Allen,  John  Stith,  and  John  M'Mullin.  The 
Rev.  Dr.  Green  pressed  this  appointment  upon  him 
with  great  earnestness.  The  Eev.  Dr.  Janeway  was 
to  be  the  secretary  without  a  salary,  and  the  chief 
duties  and  responsibilities  of  the  work,  then  in  its  in- 
cipient stages,  were  to  be  confided  to  Mr.  Murray.  In 
a  letter  to  him,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Green  says :  "  I  think,  with 
Dr.  Alexander,  that  in  no  other  way  can  you  probably 
be  so  useful  as  in  being  instrumental  in  bringing  into 
the  ministry  some  hundreds  of  young  men,  who,  but 
for  your  labors,  would  never  have  entered  it." 

Both  of  these  applications  he  declined ;  and  having 
fixed  his  eye  and  his  heart  on  the  pastoral  ofiice,  he 
went  forward  steadily  to  the  work  to  which  he  was 
called.  But  it  is  evident  that  he  had  already  made  a 
deep  impression  on  the  minds  of  leading  men  in  the 
Church.  His  business  talents,  his  energy,  his  strong 
good  sense,  his  pleasing  manners  and  address,  had 
marked  him,  even  at  this  early  period  in  his  life,  as 
one  fitted  for  great  and  efficient  usefulness. 

A  few  passages  from  his  letters  at  this  period  of  his 
life  are  deeply  interesting : 

"  Wilkesbarre,  June  17, 1829.  What  the  result  of  my 
visit  at  this  place  will  be,  I  know  not.  The  Church  is 
in  a  most  distracted  state.  There  are  two  parties  in 
it,  neither  of  whom  exchange  words  with  each  other. 


CONFLICTING  CALLS.  125 


IJiB  labors. 


Prospects. 


But  they  seem  to  be  tired  of  fighting.  I  have  heard 
the  leaders  of  both  parties  express  themselves  as  anx- 
ious for  a  different  state  of  things.  On  the  Sabbath  I 
preached  twice  to  large  and  attentive  audiences,  and 
was  caressed  by  both  sides.  I  hope  the  Lord  will  keep 
me  in  my  proper  place,  and  give  me  an  eye  single  to 
His  glory." 

"  WiUcesharre,  June  29, 1829.  The  state  of  things  here 
IS  becoming  increasingly  interesting.     Since  the  town 
was  settled  there  have  been  but  few  meetings  as  large 
as  mine  was  on  the  afternoon  of  yesterday.     For  the 
last  five  years  they  have  been  a  divided  people;  and 
It  will  take  some  time  to  wake  them  up  to  a  proper 
spirit.    To  that  spirit  I  think  they  are  coming  up  fast. 
I  preach  three  times  on  the  Sabbath,  have  a  meeting 
for  the  young  on  Monday  evening,  which  is  overflow^ 
ing,  preach  on  Wednesday  about  a  mile  from  town,  on 
Thursday  evening  lecture  in  the  Academy,  and  on  Fri- 
day evening  preach  at  Kingston.    This  is  the  amount 
of  my  weekly  duties.     I  am  up  in  the  morning  bright 
and  early,  study  until  tired,  then  I  make  a  few  vistts, 
and^  return  to  study  again.     I  feel  encouraged  to  go 
on  in  this  way  for  a  few  weeks  to  come.     When  I 
came  here  I  resolved  to  hear  no  stories  on  either  side. 
The  consequence  is,  I  visit  indiscriminately.     Their 
feuds  have  become  so  ramified  that  the  only  way  is 
to  be  neutral.     At  my  last  meeting  for  the  young  I 
have  heard  that  two  young  ladies  were  very  seriously 
impressed.     May  the  Lord  carry  on  His  own  work  in 
this  barren  wilderness. 

"As  respects  a  settlement  here,  I  can  have  it  if  I 


126  CONFLICTINa  CALLS. 

Kev.  Dr.  Green.  I'resident. 

wish ;  but,  unless  the  old  wounds  are  healed,  I  will  not 
locate  myself  among  them.  I  am  not  so  anxious  for 
a  settlement  as  to  plant  myself  on  the  sides  of  a  vol- 
cano." 

The  venerable  Ashbel  Green,  D.D,  LL.D.,  of  whom 
he  speaks  as  being  present,  and  in  the  pulpit  with  him 
when  he  preached  his  first  sermon,  was  another  of  the 
men  whose  counsels  and  example  were  among  the 
forming  influences  of  Mr.  Murray's  character.  The 
following  sketch  of  his  distinguished  friend  is  at  once 
graphic  and  faithful : 

THE  KEV.  ASHBEL  GREEN,  D.D. 
"Although  I  had  heard  much  of  him  from  my  boy- 
hood, and  had  read  some  of  his  writings,  I  never  saw 
him  until  1826 ;  and  the  sight  of  him,  at  that  time, 
would  induce  any  young  man  to  resolve  to  keep  at  a 
respectful  distance.  His  form  was  full  and  command- 
ing; his  appearance  was  stern;  his  eye,  gleaming 
through  shaggy  eyebrows,  was  penetrating;  his  step 
was  firm,  and  from  his  cane  to  his  wig  there  was  some- 
thing, which,  to  say  the  least,  was  more  repulsive  than 
attractive  to  a  youth ;  and  with  this  conclusion  agreed 
many  of  the  anecdotes  which  I  had  heard  of  him  while 
President  of  Nassau  Hall.  My  acq^uaintance  with  him 
commenced  in  1827,  and  in  this  wise :  Visiting  Phila- 
delphia as  the  agent  of  one  of  our  national  societies,  I 
felt  his  approbation  of  my  plans  necessary  to  my  suc- 
cess. I  called  to  see  him,  and  was  introduced  into  his 
study.  I  soon  found  myself  in  converse  with  a  cour- 
teous, kind,  but  dignified  Christian  minister.     He  not 


CONFLICTING   CALLS.  127 


Popularity. 


only  approved  my  plans,  but  tendered  his  own  sub- 
scription to  the  object.  Finding,  on  inquiry,  as  I  was 
about  to  retire,  that  I  was  a  candidate  for  the  minis- 
try, he  invited  me  to  a  seat  by  his  side ;  and  the  im- 
pressions made  upon  my  mind  and  heart  by  his  kind 
inquiries,  by  his  paternal  advice,  are  vivid  to  this 
hour.  He  dismissed  me  with  his  blessings  upon  my- 
self and  my  object.  Never  was  a  revolution  more  en- 
tire wrought  in  the  feelings  of  a  man,  and  from  that 
day  forward  he  was  my  counselor  in  cases  of  difficulty ; 
and  so  pleasant  and  simple  was  he  in  private,  that,  on 
leaving  my  family  after  an  occasional  visit  of  a  few 
days,  my  little  children  would  cling  to  his  feet  and 
his  garments,  crying  out,  '  You  must  not  go.  Dr. 
Green.'  I  feel  quite  sure  that  those  who  only  knew 
him  in  Presbyteries  and  Synods,  and  especially  in  the 
ardent  conflicts  of  the  General  Assembly,  of  which  he 
was  almost  a  standing  member,  have  the  most  errone- 
ous views  of  his  true  character. 

"  His  was  a  truthful  character.  Truth  was  to  him 
tjuth ;  and  what  he  believed  he  felt  and  acted  out. 
His  was  not  the  policy  to  believe  one  way  and  act  an- 
other. Such  policy  he  scorned,  and  withheld  his  con- 
fidence from  those  who  practiced  it.  A  man  cast  in 
such  a  mould  is  likely  to  be  unpopular  with  that  large 
class  of  persons  who  regard  truth  with  less  reverence ; 
who  stretch  it  or  contract  it  to  suit  circumstances; 
who,  in  the  bad  sense  of  the  phrase,  are  ready  to  be- 
come 'all  things  to  all  men.'  They  are  prejudiced, 
obstinate,  bigoted,  sectarian.  But  there  is  a  better 
and  truer  explanation  of  all  this.     There  is  a  deep 


128  CONFLICTING  CALLS. 

Firmness.  Preacher. 

and  heartfelt  reverence  for  tlie  trutli  as  such,  which, 
on  all  occasions,  and  every  where,  forbids  its  com- 
promise on  the  ground  of  mere  worldly  expediency. 
There  is  an  inner  reverence  for  it,  in  kind  and  degree, 
like  unto  that  which  is  felt  for  God  himself  This 
was  conspicuous  through  the  whole  long  life  of  Dr. 
Green ;  and  often  have  I  heard  him  censuring,  with 
far  greater  severity,  what  he  considered  the  crooked 
policy  of  his  friends,  who  always  acted  with  him,  than 
that  of  his  opponents,  who  always  pursued  a  different 
policy  from  his.  His  firmness  was  at  an  equal  re- 
move from  fickleness  and  obstinacy,  which  are  alike 
alien  to  a  truly  noble  character.  The  one  is  barren 
of  good  as  the  yielding  wave,  the  other  as  the  unyield- 
ing rock.  Although  holding  his  opinions  strongly,  he 
was  ever  willing  to  yield  them  for  good  reasons.  A 
fool  never  changes  his  opinions,  but  a  wise  man  always 
will  for  sufficient  cause. 

"He  was  a  most  fervent  and  instructive  preacher. 
Although  I  never  heard  him  preach  until  he  had 
passed  the  meridian  of  life — until,  fearful  of  attacks  of 
vertigo,  to  which  he  was  subject,  he  generally  declined 
the  pulpit ;  yet  the  few  sermons  I  have  heard  him  de- 
liver very  deeply  impressed  his  hearers,  and  very  ob- 
viously indicated  that,  in  the  prime  of  his  years,  he 
was  a  man  of  no  ordinary  power.  His  utterance  was'* 
distinct,  his  manner  was  calm  and  dignified ;  if  he 
never  rose  to  the  higher  style  of  action,  he  always  at-  ^ 
tained  its  end,  attention  and  impression ;  he  made  you 
feel  that  he  entirely  believed  every  word  he  uttered, 
and  that  it  was  of  infinite  moment  that  you  should  be- 


CONFLICTING   CALLS.  129 

Manner.  Matter. 

lieve  them  also.  The  minister  that  uniformly  makes 
this  impression  must  be  one  of  great  power. 

"Nor  was  the  impression  which  he  made  simply 
that  of  manner ;  his  matter  was  always  weighty,  well 
arranged,  and  instructive.  If  his  topics  were  common- 
place, they  were  always  important ;  if  his  discussions 
were  sometimes  dry,  they  were  clear  as  a  sunbeam ; 
if  you  could  not  always  adopt  his  opinions,  there  was 
no  mistake  as  to  what  he  meant.  In  all  my  inter- 
course with  him,  I  had  never  cause  to  ask,  '  What  do 
you  mean,  sir?'  nor  do  I  remember  a  sentence  in  all 
his  writings  which  is  not  entirely  transparent. 

"  His  most  valuable  lectures  on  the  Shorter  Cate- 
chism, and  his  published  sermons,  give  a  fair  specimen 
of  his  ordinary  style  of  preaching.  If  they  have  not 
the  amplitude  of  Chalmers,  nor  the  polished  eloquence 
of  Hall,  nor  the  warmth  of  Da  vies,  they  have  the  puri- 
ty of  Blair,  in  union  with  a  natural  simplicity,  which 
strongly  fix  their  truly  evangelical  sentiments  in  the 
mind  and  heart.  Hence  the  devoted  attachment,  both 
to  him  and  his  sentiments,  of  all  who  ever  enjoyed  his 
ministrations. 

"  He  greatly  excelled  as  an  expounder  of  the  Word 
of  God,  Of  his  talent  in  this  way  I  had  an  abundance 
of  opportunity  of  forming  a  judgment.  The  Sabbath- 
school  teachers  of  Philadelphia  adopted  a  rule  to  have 
the  same  Bible  lesson  taught  on  the  same  Sabbath  in 
all  schools  of  the  city,  and  to  have  the  lesson  expound- 
ed to  them  by  some  clergyman.  The  lecture-room  in 
Cherry  Street  was  the  place,  and  Dr.  Green  was  the 
man  selected.     On  each  evening  the  large  room  was 

F2 


130  CONFLICTING  CALLS. 

Asking  questions.  Devotions. 

crowded  by  one  of  the  most  interesting  and  interested 
audiences  I  ever  beheld ;  and  although  Dr.  Green  was 
then  approaching  his  threescore  years  and  ten,  never 
did  I  hear  more  clear,  and  full,  and  fresh,  and  pleasing 
expositions  of  divine  truth.  At  the  close  of  the  lec- 
ture, opportunity  was  given  for  the  asking  of  any 
questions  upon  any  points  that  were  left  unexplain- 
ed, which  were  always  answered  with  a  promptness 
■which  showed  the  remarkable  fullness  of  his  mind 
upon  all  topics  connected  with  the  exposition  or  elu- 
cidation of  the  Scriptures.  I  know  not  that  I  ever  at- 
tended a  more  instructive  religious  service.  I  have 
learned  that  it  was  greatly  blessed  of  God  to  the  con- 
version and  edification  of  Sabbath-school  teachers. 
He  served  his  generation  in  more  dignified  stations, 
but  probably  in  none  more  usefully  than  when  ex- 
pounding the  word  of  life  to  nearly  a  thousand  young 
men  and  women,  who,  on  each  successive  Sabbath, 
sought  to  impress  those  views  received  from  him  on 
the  minds  of  ten  thousand  children.  Might  not  this 
plan  be  successfully  revived  in  all  our  cities  ? 

"  He  was  a  truly  devotional  man.  His  public  de- 
votional services  were  always  peculiarly  impressive. 
They  were  solemn,  pathetic,  reverential,  appropriate, 
and  never  unduly  protracted.  In  the  family  he  al- 
ways commenced  morning  and  evening  prayer  with 
imploring  a  blessing  upon  the  service ;  and  while  en- 
gaged in  them,  all  felt  that  he  was  conversing  with  ' 
God  as  a  man  converses  with  a  friend.  I  have  often 
heard  him  express  his  regrets  at  the  little  preparation 
ministers  often  make  for  conducting  the  devotional 


CONFLICTING   CALLS.  131 


My  first  sermon. ^ His  prayer. 

exercises  of  a  congregation,  and  I  have  heard  him 
Btate  that  in  the  early  part  of  his  ministry  he  was  in 
the  habit  of  writing  prayers  with  equal  regularity  as 
sermons ;  and,  while  he  never  read  them,  nor  commit- 
ted them  to  memory,  the  writing  of  them  furnished 
him  with  topics  for  prayer,  and  gave  to  those  topics 
arrangement,  and  to  the  expression  of  them  variety 
and  appropriateness.     For  this  thought  he  may  have 
been  indebted  to  his  venerated  tutor,  Dr.  Witherspoon, 
who  always  recommended  devotional  composition  to 
his  theological  students,  of  whom  Dr.  Green  was  one. 
"  My  first  sermon  was  preached  in  the  Third  Pres- 
byterian Church,  Philadelphia,  then  under  the  pastor- 
al care  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Ely,  and  from  the  text '  Com- 
pel them  to  come  in.'     Dr.  Ely  was  absent,  and  to  my 
confusion.  Dr.  Green  entered  the  church  just  at  the 
opening  of  the  service.     Feeling  it  better  to  have  him 
behind  me  than  before  me,  I  sent  for  him  to  the  pul- 
pit.    In  my  ardor  to  stimulate  ministers  and  Chris- 
tians to  do  their  duty,  I  omitted  almost  any  allusion 
to  the  necessary  agency  of  the  Spirit  to  secure  their 
success.     He  made  the  concluding  prayer,  in  which, 
with  his  accustomed  felicity,  he  converted  the  topics 
discussed  into  supplications,  and  then  brought  out 
most  prominently  and  emphatically  the  essential  truth 
by  me  omitted.     I  felt  that  the  whole  congregation 
saw  and  felt  the  defect  of  my  sermon.     Ilis  kindness 
was  marked  at  the  close  of  the  service.     I  went  to  my 
study,  re-wrote  my  sermon,  put  into  it  the  prayer  of 
Dr.  Green,  and  it  is  unnecessary  to  say  that  it  was 
greatly  improved  by  tlie  addition. 


132  CONFLICTING  CALLS. 

Studies.  Spirit. 

"My  very  last  interview  with  him  impressed  me 
with  the  depth  of  that  spirit  of  devotion  which  char- 
acterized his  Hfe.  He  was  feeble,  and  forgetful,  and 
in  a  mood  to  talk  but  very  little  to  any  body.  Hear- 
ing that  I  was  in  the  city,  he  sent  for  me,  that  I  might 
attend  to  a  matter  of  business  for  him  connected  with 
the  New  Jersey  Historical  Society.  I  entered  his 
study  on  a  May  morning  about  nine  o'clock.  His 
Greek  Testament  was  open  before  him.  He  request- 
ed me  to  be  seated.  The  business  ended,  he  waved 
his  hand,  saying,  'My  devotional  reading  is  not  yet 
concluded ;  I  shall  be  happy  to  see  you  at  another 
time ;'  and  as  I  closed  the  door  of  his  study,  the  pray- 
er, 'God  bless  you,' fell  upon  my  ear;  the  last  words 
I  ever  heard  him  utter.  All  testify  that  the  closing 
years  of  his  life  were  marked  by  a  spirit  remarkably 
devotional. 

"  He  possessed  a  truly  catholic  spirit.  This  asser- 
tion, perhaps,  will  startle  some  who  only  knew  his 
public  character,  and  who  have  only  heard  of  him  as 
an  impersonation  of  Old-school  Presbyterian  ism.  Yet 
it  is  true  to  the  letter.  His  own  views  he  held  strong- 
ly, but  in  perfect  charity  to  those  who  differed  from 
him.  Although  his  contributions  and  exertions  were 
mainly  confined  to  the  organization  of  his  own  Church, 
it  was  out  of  consistency  with  himself,  and  not  out  of 
illiberality  to  others.  More  than  once  have  I  heard 
him  detail  an  account  of  a  visit  made  by  the  vener- ' 
able  Dr.  Woods,  for  so  many  years  the  oi'nament  of 
the  Andover  Theological  Seminary.  They  compared 
views  on  theological  and  other  subjects,  and  while 


CONFLICTING   CALLS.  133 

Dr.  Woods.  I'resbyterianism. 

they  differed  a  little  in  the  explanations  of  some  posi- 
tions, they  radically  agreed.  '  Would  to  God,'  I  have 
heard  him  say,  'that  all  our  ministers  and  churches 
held  the  sentiments  of  my  brother  Woods.'  And  aft- 
er the  disruption  of  our  Church,  he  never  permitted  a 
day  to  pass  without  the  most  fervent  prayers  to  Grod 
on  the  behalf  of  the  brethren  to  whom  he  was  regard- 
ed as  being  so  violently  opposed.  He  had  none  of  the 
narrow  sectarianism  that  would  confine  the  Church 
visible  to  those  only  who  walked  with  him ;  and  often 
have  I  heard  him  rejoice  in  the  good  that  was  doing 
by  Methodists,  Baptists,  Episcopalians,  to  all  of  whom, 
as  Christians  and  as  ministers,  he  could  extend  the 
right  hand  of  fellowship,  although  on  all  suitable  oc- 
casions he  could  strongly  maintain  the  positions  on 
which  he  differed  from  them.  There  is  not  probably 
a  national  society  for  the  spread  of  the  Gospel  in  this 
land  to  which  he  was  not  a  contributor,  and  of  which 
he  was  not  a  member  or  a  manager ;  while  he  may  be 
considered  the  father  of  nearly  all  the  Boards  and  So- 
cieties of  his  own  deeply-venerated  Church.  'No- 
body will  question  the  Presbyterianism  of  Dr.  Green,' 
said  an  eloquent  divine,  during  a  debate  in  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  '  as  he  was  dyed  in  the  wool.'  '  The 
brother  mistakes,'  said  Dr.  Green,  with  that  prompt- 
ness of  repartee  which  he  possessed ;  '  the  Lord,  by 
his  grace,  made  me  a  Presbyterian.'  And  although 
the  principles  of  his  Church  were  interwoven  with  his 
spiritual  life,  and  formed  a  part  of  it,  yet  he  had  the 
most  cordial  love  for  the  children  of  God,  by  whatever 
name  called.     Never  have  I  heard  him  speak  with 


134  CONFLICTING   CALLS. 

Son  of  consolation.  Miss  Linnard. 

more  aflfection  of  any  man  than  of  his  friend,  the  ami- 
able and  venerated  Bishop  White. 

"  He  was  remarkably  gifted  as  a  son  of  consolation 
to  desponding  souls.  This,  perhaps,  was  mainly  ow- 
ing to  his  own  simple  views  of  divine  truth,  and  his 
rich  experience  of  its  power.  He  had  the  power  of 
simplifying  every  subject  on  which  he  spoke  or  wrote, 
and  of  doing  it  in  a  few  words.  This  is  very  apparent 
in  his  lectures  on  the  Shorter  Catechism,  prej^ared  for 
the  youth  of  his  own  congregation.  When  anxious 
or  desponding  souls  applied  to  him  for  direction,  he 
first  sought  out  the  cause  of  trouble,  and  then,  like  a 
well-instructed  scribe,  he  so  simply  presented  and  ap- 
plied the  remedial  truth  as  to  give,  if  not  immediate, 
yet  speedy  relief.  He  acted  upon  the  principle  that, 
'if  the  truth  makes  us  free,  we  are  free  indeed.' 
Hence  aged,  desponding  Christians,  and  individuals 
asking  what  they  should  do  to  be  saved,  and  from  dif- 
ferent congregations  in  the  city,  were  often  found  in 
his  study  seeking  his  counsels.  On  such  occasions 
there  was  a  kindness  and  blandness  in  his  manner 
which  formed  the  greatest  possible  contrast  with  his 
stern  and  unflinching  position  when  contending  for 
principles  on  the  floor  of  the  General  Assembly. 

"  A  case  in  illustration  of  this  I  will  state.  Twenty- 
five  years  ago,  the  name  of  Miss  Linnard,  whose  me- 
moir has  since  been  published,  was  familiar  to  the  pi- 
ous female  circles  of  Philadelphia.  She  shone  con-' 
spicuously  among  them  for  her  fine  sense,  great  activ- 
ity, and  deep  piety.  A  minister,  still  living,  preached 
a  preparatory  lecture  in  the  church  in  Spruce  Street, 


CONFLICTING  CALLS.  135 

Lord's  Supper.  Literary. 

of  whicli  she  was  a  member,  on  the  text, '  Lovest  thou 
me?'  which  cast  her  into  the  deepest  gloom.  Such 
were  the  strong  and  vivid  representations  which  he 
made  as  to  the  necessary  preparations  for  the  right 
partaking  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  that,  conscious  of  not 
possessing  them,  she  resolved  not  to  commune.  Her 
sense  of  duty  and  her  deep  depression  of  feeling  came 
into  conflict,  and  greatly  excited  her  soul.  In  this 
state  she  had  recourse  to  Dr.  Green,  who  had  heard 
the  lecture.  '  My  dear  child,'  said  he,  '  our  excellent 
brother  seemed  to  forget  that  the  Lord's  table  is  spread, 
not  for  angels,  but  for  sinners.  He  has  come,  not  to 
call  the  righteous,  but  sinners  to  repentance.  It  is  the 
weary  and  heavy  laden  He  invites  to  Himself,  and  to 
the  privileges  of  His  house.'  It  was  enough.  She  left 
his  study  rejoicing  in  the  Lord ;  and  a  more  joyful 
communion  season  she  had  never  spent  on  earth.  I 
heard  the  lecture,  and  the  incident  here  narrated  I 
have  had  from  both  parties.  And  this,  I  feel  per- 
suaded, is  a  fair  illustration  of  his  skill  and  success  as 
a  comforter  of  the  Lord's  people,  and  as  a  director  of 
the  inquiring  to  the  cross  of  Jesus  Christ. 

"It  remains  for  me  only  to  speak  of  him  as  a  liter- 
ary man.  As  his  life  and  writings  will  do  his  memo- 
ry full  justice  upon  this  subject,  I  need  say  but  little 
upon  it.  His  academic  habits  he  carried  with  hira 
into  his  pastoral  life,  and  always  took  rank  in  the  very 
first  class  of  the  educated  men  of  his  own  age — with 
such  men  as  Dwight,  and  Smith,  and  "Wilson,  and  Ma- 
son. If  he  was  excelled  in  brilliancy  by  these,  and 
others  with  whom  he  ranked,  he  was  fully  their  equal 


136  CONFLICTING  CALLS. 

Revival.  Fruits. 

in  all  solid  attainments.  It  was  no  ordinary  tribute 
to  bis  literary  character  that  he  should  be  selected  to 
succeed  Dr.  Smith  as  the  President  of  Princeton  Col- 
lege, in  which  position  he  discharged  his  duties  as  in- 
structor with  distinguished  ability,  and,  in  a  religious 
point  of  view,  with  distinguished  usefulness.  It  was 
during  his  presidency  that  the  revival  occurred  which, 
under  God,  brought  into  the  Church  and  into  the  min- 
istry such  men  as  Dr.  John  Breckinridge,  Dr.  Hodge, 
Bishops  M'llvaine  of  Ohio,  and  Johns  of  Virginia. 
On  retiring  from  the  presidency,  he  commenced  the 
Christian  Advocate,  which  he  edited  for  twelve  years, 
and  whose  twelve  volumes  give  the  most  ample  testi- 
mony to  his  rich  scholarship,  his  keen  discrimination, 
his  metaphysical  acumen,  his  sharpness  as  a  critic,  and 
to  the  extent  and  variety  of  his  reading.  Some  of  the 
ablest  productions  of  his  pen  were  written  after  he  had 
passed  his  fourscore  years;  and  to  the  very  close  of 
his  life  his  Greek  Testament  was  his  daily  study,  and 
he  could  repeat  passages  from  the  Greek  and  Eoman 
classics  with  the  interest  and  vigor  of  a  school-bo3\ 
His  habits  of  study  he  never  surrendered  to  the  last ; 
and  I  have  in  my  possession  a  note  written  to  me  on 
business  in  his  eighty-fifth  year — written  with  as  clear, 
bold,  and  steady  a  hand  as  if  written  in  his  fortiet|i 
year.  In  this  respect  he  is  an  example  worthy  of  im- 
itation by  all  literary  men  in  advanced  years,  to  study, 
write,  and  work  to  the  last.  Still  waters  soon  stag'- 
iiate;  running  waters  never.  The  mind,  unemployed, 
like  the  blade  of  Hudibras, 


CONFLICTING  CALLS.  137 


i Labors. 


'"Which  ate  into  itself,  for  lack 
Of  somebody  to  hew  and  hack,' 

preys  upon  itself,  and  soon  passes  away. 

"  Such  is  my  estimate  of  the  character  of  Dr.  Green. 
On  the  whole,  I  esteem  him  as  among  the  ripest  schol- 
ars, the  most  able  divines,  the  most  useful  men  which 
our  country  has  produced." 

From  his  Diary. 

"Wilkesharre,  Aug.  19, 1829.  For  the  last  few  days 
my  mind  has  been  much  distracted  on  the  subject  of 
my  call  to  the  pastoral  care  of  these  churches.  It  was 
put  into  my  hands  a  week  since,  and  as  yet  I  am  un- 
decided what  to  do.  It  is  unanimous,  with  a  salary  of 
six  hundred  dollars.  There  are  many  things  inviting, 
and  some  serious  obstacles.  I  pray  the  Lord  to  direct 
me.  On  the  Sabbath  previous  I  preached  at  Montrose. 
They  would  have  given  me  an  immediate  call  had  I 
given  them  the  least  encouragement.  But  I  have  de- 
termined to  be  no  coquette. 

"Much  labor  and  study  have  impaired  my  health 
considerably.  I  feel  not  so  strong  as  I  have  done,  and 
need  a  little  relaxation  again  to  invigorate  me.  I  have 
reason  to  believe  my  labors  here  have  been  blessed  ; 
and  if  I  shall  conclude  to  stay,  a  prospect  of  useful- 
ness spreads  itself  before  me." 

^  He  went  to  Philadelphia  to  consult  his  friends  and 
give  the  subject  more  deliberate  attention;  and  while 
there  he  addressed  the  following  letter  to  the  united 
congregations  from  which  the  call  had  come.     As  an 


138  CONFLICTING   CALLS. 

Answers  call.  Objections. 

answer  to  tlie  first  call  he  received,  it  is  certainly  a 
remarkable  paper : 

"  Wilkesbarre,  August  21, 1829. 

"  Gentlemen, — As  the  signers  of  a  document  pur- 
porting to  be  '  a  calV  from  the  united  congregations  of 
Wilkesbarre  and  Kingston,  I  take  the  liberty  of  ad- 
dressing to  you  the  following  communication,  as  the 
organs  of  these  churches  respectively. 

"Since  that  paper  was  put  into  my  hands  it  has 
caused  me  many  hours  of  anxious  solicitude.  As  far 
as  I  can  see  duty,  the  beam  of  Providence  seems  to 
hold  no  steady  position,  sometimes  inclining  to  the  one 
side,  and  sometimes  to  the  other.  This  is  my  great 
difficulty.  Professing  some  independence  in  thought 
and  action,  let  me  assure  you  that  if  I  saw  the  way  of 
Providence  clear,  and  my  duty  manifest,  nothing  could 
make  me  hesitate  for  a  moment. 

"In  each  of  your  churches  there  are  many  things 
well  calculated  to  deter  a  young  man  from  becoming 
their  pastor,  and  any  man  from  connecting  himself 
with  them.  Many  of  these  things  are  of  long  contin- 
uance, and  to  eradicate  them  will  require  years  of  la- 
borious faithfulness.  Dissension  and  misrule  have  rent 
the  one  into  opposing  and  contending  parties ;  cold- 
ness and  decay  are  the  characteristics  of  the  other. 
The  one  is  without  any  regular  organization ;  the  other 
possesses  little  but  the  name.  And  both  are  very  much 
destitute  of  that  freshness  and  activity  which  show  tha-t 
the  heart  performs  its  appropriate  functions.  Besides 
this,  the  support  offered  is  utterly  incompetent  to 
place  a  man  beyond  the  reach  of  care  and  anxiety  as 


CONFLICTING   CALLS.  139 

Conditions.  Candor. 

it  respects  his  subsistence.  And  even  if  raised  to  the 
amount  contemplated  in  the  few  lines  annexed  to  the 
call,  which  is  altogether  hypothetical,  still  it  would  be 
incompetent.  This  will  appear  evident  to  any  mind 
who  sits  down  and  counts  the  cost.  And  the  very 
fact  that  two  churches  of  so  much  comparative  wealth 
can  not  raise  a  competent  support  for  a  minister,  is  it- 
self a  strong  presumptive  argument  against  them.  If 
a  minister  is  bound  to  make  sacrifices  for  the  good  of 
any  particular  Church,  it  is  equally  the  duty  of  that 
Church  to  make  sacrifices  for  his  support.  It  is  a 
wrong  explication  of  the  law  that  places  all  sacrifices 
to  the  account  of  the  ministry.  But,  in  reply  to  all 
this,  it  may  be  said  there  are  many  reasons  which 
should  induce  me  to  stay.  It  is  true  there  are ;  and 
it  is  on  this  ground  that  I  hesitate.  The  union  of 
feeling  and  sentiment  in  myself,  from  a  people  so  dis- 
tracted, is  one  of  the  most  clear  indications  of  Provi- 
dence that  I  see ;  all  other  reasons  that  should  induce 
me  to  stay,  arising  from  the  surrounding  destitution, 
and  the  prospect  of  doing  good,  are  common  to  this, 
with  nearly  every  vacancy  in  our  country. 

"  Without  farther  preliminaries,  I  will  merely  state 
that  I  think  duty  requires  me  to  give  the  following 
answer.  I  feel  inclined  to  think  favorably  of  con- 
necting myself  with  your  churches  in  the  relation  of 
their  pastor  on  the  following  conditions : 

"  1.  That  the  Church  of  Wilkesbarre  become,  pre- 
vious to  my  ordination,  Presbyterian. 

"2.  That  my  salary,  as  stated  in  the  call,  be  paid 
punctually,  to  the  day,  without  any  interference  what- 
ever on  my  part. 


140  CONFLICTING  CALLS. 

Amount  of  labor.  Keaervation. 

"3.  That  the  committee  accept  of  the  assistance  of- 
fered by  the  Missionary  Society  until  such  time  as 
they  can  do  without  it. 

"4.  That  no  more  than  four  weekly  services  be  re- 
quired at  my  hands ;  all  over  that  shall  be  at  my  own 
pleasure.  This  I  insert,  because  many  are  to  be  found 
in  every  congregation  who  think  they  know  the  min- 
ister's duty  better  than  he  does  himself 

"  5.  That,  if  possible,  the  Church  of  Kingston  shall 
make  arrangements  to  have  meetings  permanently  at 
one  place  on  Sabbath  morning. 

"6.  That,  as  soon  as  possible,  the  meeting-house 
shall  be  repaired  and  rendered  more  commodious  for 
public  worship ;  and  that  some  place  shall  be  prepared 
for  evening  and  occasional  services. 

"Farther  than  this  I  can  not  say  at  present,  as  the 
call  has  not  been  put  into  my  hands  in  due  form.  I 
wish  it  also  to  be  understood  that  if,  previous  to  my 
receiving  the  call  from  the  hands  of  the  Presbytery, 
any  reason  of  sufficient  weight  shall  appear  to  me  why 
I  should  decline  settlement,  I  hold  in  my  hands  the 
power  of  making  such  declination,  without  subjecting 
myself  to  any  censure  whatsoever  for  so  doing. 

"  Yours,  gentlemen,  in  much  Christian  love  and  af- 
fection, Nicholas  Murkay. 

"To  Messrs.  Haff,  Anhauser,  Collins,  Hollenback,  Brower,  Parker, 
Hicc,  and  Iloyt,  Committee  of  the  Churches  of  Wilkesbarre  and 
Kingston."  ^ 

The  conditions  having  been  substantially  accepted, 
he  gave  his  formal  acceptance  of  the  call,  and  in  Sep- 


CONFLICTING   CALLS.  141 

Kxpectations.  The  people. 

tember  went  again  to  Wilkesbarre.     In  a  letter  to  a 
friend,  written  after  his  arrival,  he  says : 


"  September  28,  1829. 

"  I  found  every  body  on  the  eager  look-out  for  me, 
and,  as  the  stage  passed  along,  I  saw  a  head  from  al- 
most every  door  and  window  looking  out.  My  re- 
ception by  my  friends  was  most  warm  and  gratifying. 
On  Thursday  and  Friday  I  was  principally  employed 
in  attending  to  the  examinations  in  the  schools,  and 
in  making  and  receiving  visits.  Saturday  I  spent  in 
Kingston,  where  I  preached  yesterday  morning.  In 
the  afternoon  I  preached  here,  to  a  very  full  house, 
from  the  text,  'Fear  not,  little  flock,  it  is  j^our  Fa- 
ther's good  pleasure  to  give  you  the  kingdom.'  It 
was  more  still  than  I  had  ever  seen  it  previously. 
Many  came  out,  no  doubt,  to  hear  what  I  would  say 
for  the  first  time ;  but,  with  the  exception  of  what  I 
said  in  prayer,  there  was  nothing  peculiar  in  the  exer- 
cises. This  evening  I  held  my  meeting  for  the  young ; 
on  Thursday  evening  my  weekly  lecture.  I  found 
three  individuals  rejoicing  in  hope  on  my  return; 
one  of  them  as  interesting  a  convert  as  I  have  ever 
known.  I  hope  the  Lord  may  multiply  the  number 
like  the  drops  of  the  morning  dew.  Last  evening  a 
young  man  called  on  me  for  the  purpose  of  religious 
instruction.  There  is  a  great  work  to  be  done  here. 
May  the  Lord  grant  me  courage  and  strength  to  per- 
form it." 


142  HIS   FIRST  SETTLEMENT, 


Ordination. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Ordained,  and  Installed  over  the  Churches  of  Wilkesbarre  and  Kings- 
ton.— His  Description  of  Wyoming  Valley,  in  which  he  resides. — 
Incidents  of  Pastoral  Life. — The  Hay-mow. — Mr.  Murray's  Mar- 
riage.— Sketch  of  Rev.  Mr.  Rhecs,  the  Father  of  ]Mrs.  Murray.— 
Too  late  for  the  Wedding. 

"  Wilkesbarre^  Nov.  4,  1829.  This  has  been  to  me,  be- 
yond all  odds,  the  most  solemn  and  important  day  of 
my  life.  The  Presbytery  of  Susquehanna  met  here 
this  day  for  the  purpose  of  ordaining  me  to  the  work 
of  the  Gospel  ministry,  and  to  constitute  me  the  pastor 
of  these  churches.  On  the  last  evening  they  took  me 
■under  their  care,  and  passed  me  through  a  full  exam- 
ination. The  examination  of  my  fellow-men  I  stood 
very  well.  Would  that  I  could  say  the  same  as  it  re- 
spects God !  I  think  that,  in  the  whole  course  of  my 
life,  I  have  been  mercifully  directed  by  the  Lord,  and 
that,  by  His  good  hand  upon  me,  I  have  been  brought 
into  the  ministry.  At  times,  many  stumbling-blocks 
were  thrown  in  my  way  by  myself  and  others,  but,  in 
great  goodness,  they  were  all  removed.  The  business 
of  this  day  was  entered  on  by  me  not  without  prayfer. 
I  think  the  Lord  was  with  mo  through  the  service ; 
and  in  the  Lord's  strength  I  hope  to  be  enabled  to 
perform  the  high  duties  and  obligations  devolving 
on  me." 

In  a  letter  written  a  few  days  afterward,  he  says: 


HIS   FIRST   SETTLEMENT.  143 

Dr.  Janeway.  The  Valley. 

"  Wilkesharre,  Nov.  9, 1829.  The  exercises  of  my  or- 
dination were  solemn  and  interesting.  Dr.  Janeway 
preached  a  good  didactic  sermon,  which  he  will  pub- 
lish. The  charge  of  Rev.  Mr.  Gray  to  the  pastor  and 
people,  also  to  be  published,  was  certainly  very  fine. 
The  house  was  full,  and  we  hope  an  impression  was 
made  favorable  to  the  cause  of  Christ  in  the  Valley. 
Before  the  hands  of  the  Presbytery  were  fifteen  min- 
utes off  my  head,  I  was  called  upon  to  marry  a  couple, 
and  had  to  ride  nine  miles  to  do  it.  This,  they  say, 
augurs  favorably.  Dr.  Janeway  paid  me  a  distinguish- 
ed compliment  in  leaving  the  ordination  of  his  son  to 
come  to  me.  He  was  delighted  with  the  Valley  of 
Wyoming,  and  said  that  to  see  it  was  a  sufficient  com- 
pensation for  coming  up.  Yesterday  I  preached  my 
introductory  to  a  full  house ;  it  is  the  longest  sermon 
I  have  ever  preached ;  I  was  upward  of  an  hour  in  de- 
livering it,  and  the  house  was  perfectly  still.  My  re- 
marks were  strong,  decided,  and  pointed ;  suited,  as  I 
thought,  to  the  people;  but  what  impression  it  has 
made  is  yet  to  be  learned.  I  am  no»w  entered  on  the 
full  duties  of  the  ministerial  office.  Never  have  I  had 
such  feelings  as  have  pressed  my  bosom  since  "Wed- 
nesday. Hitherto  I  have  been  viewing  the  ministry 
at  a  distance,  now  it  stares  me  fully  in  the  face.  My 
fervent  prayer  is,  that  the  Lord  may  give  me  strength 
to  fulfill  my  ordination  vows,  and  to  live  only  to  his 
glory  and  for  the  good  of  my  fellow-men.  This  is  my 
constant,  fervent,  and,  I  hope,  sincere  prayer.  Both  my 
congregations  are  united  in  me,  and  I  hope  the  Lord 
may  give  me  some  souls  to  be  stars  in  the  crown  of 


144  HIS  FIRST  SETTLEMENT. 

New  church.  Description. 

my  rejoicing.  Next  Sabbatli  is  my  first  communion : 
three  persons  stand  propounded  for  admission;  one 
of  them  one  of  my  own  spiritual  children,  the  first 
fruits  of  my  ministry  here,  and  others  would  come  for- 
ward if  encouraged,  but  we  have  deferred  them  for 
another  time.  On  the  following  week  I  have  to  assist 
in  organizing  a  new  church  eight  or  ten  miles  from 
this  place.  Next  month  I  have  to  attend  to  the  in- 
stallation of  a  minister  fifty  miles  from  here,  in  Sus- 
quehanna County." 

The  Yalley  of  "Wyoming,  in  which  Wilkesbarre  and 
Kingston  lie,  is  celebrated  in  song  and  story.  Dr. 
Murray  describes  it  in  the  introduction  to  some  inci- 
dents of  his  early  ministry  : 

"The  valley  is  beautiful  beyond  description.  A 
broad  and  winding  river  enters  it  at  the  north,  be- 
tween two  high,  rocky  peaks,  which  bear  the  evidence 
of  being  torn  from  each  other's  embrace  by  some  dread 
concussion  of  nature ;  and,  after  a  course  of  fifteen 
miles,  takes  its  exit  at  the  south,  and  through  a  gap 
probably  made  in  the  same  way.  On  either  side  of 
this  river  the  bottom-lands  are  exceedingly  rich.  As 
you  leave  the  river,  these  lands  gradually  undulate, 
until,  at  the  distance  of  about  two  miles,  they  rise  into 
mountains  on  the  east  and  west,  which  seem  built  of 
heaven  to  guard  the  quiet  vale  from  all  disturbing  in- 
trusions. As  the  traveler  reaches  the  brow  of  the 
eastern  mountain,  a  scene  of  surpassing  loveliness 
spreads  itself  beneath  him ;  and  he  feels  that  if  peace 
has  not  utterly  forsaken  our  world,  its  residence  must 


HIS   FIRST  SETTLEMENT.  145 

Early  Church.  Preparation. 

be  there.  The  valley  seems  as  if  expressly  made  for 
the  home  of  the  Indian ;  and  for  moons  beyond  the 
power  of  his  arithmetic  to  calculate,  the  red  man  fish- 
ed in  that  river,  and  planted  his  corn  in  that  rich  bot- 
tom, and  sought  his  game  upon  the  mountains.  And 
before  he  could  be  compelled  to  yield  it,  he  made  the 
white  man  feel  the  power  of  his  anger  in  many  a 
dreadful  surprise. 

"  But  sin,  and  in  its  very  worst  forms,  found  an  en- 
trance into  this  beautiful  spot.  Early  in  the  history 
of  the  settlement,  a  Church  was  collected  there,  which 
continued  a  feeble  existence  until  1829,  when  I  be- 
came its  pastor.  Young,  ardent,  and  without  experi- 
ence, I  here  commenced  my  ministry,  in  a  community 
proverbial  both  for  its  intelligence  and  its  disregard  of 
religion ;  amid  external  opposition,  and  with  a  Church 
small,  and  rent  by  internal  discords.  A  more  un- 
promising field  none  could  desire. 

"I  entered  on  my  duties  with  zeal,  and  was  dili- 
gent in  their  performance.  I  prepared  my  sermons 
with  care,  and  thought  them  conclusive ;  but  few 
heard  them,  and  none  seemed  convinced  by  them.  I 
felt  deeply  myself,  but  my  hearers  seemed  unmoved. 
Months  thus  passed  away  without,  to  my  knowledge, 
a  religious  impression  being  made  on  any  mind ;  and, 
feeling  that  I  labored  in  vain,  and  spent  my  strength 
for  naught,  I  was  about  giving  up  in  despair.  My 
preaching  seemed  more  to  excite  the  opposition  of  the 
wicked  than  the  prayers  of  the  pious. 

"  There  was  among  my  people  a  man  in  mid-life, 
a  German  by  birth,  and  a  remarkably  simple-hearterl, 

G 


146  HIS   FIRST  SETTLEMENT. 

____^ _^_____ / 

Hay-mow.  Revival. 

pure-minded  Christian.  Whoever  was  absent,  he  was 
always  present  at  the  place  of  prayer.  One  evening, 
early  in  December,  as  I  was  about  retiring  to  rest,  I 
heard  a  knock  at  my  door,  and  my  German  friend 
was  introduced,  his  countenance  full  of  emotion.  On 
taking  his  seat,  his  first  words  were  these :  '  My  dear 
pastor,  I  have  come  to  tell  you  that  the  Lord  is  about 
to  revive  his  work  here.'  Surprised  at  his  appearance 
and  language,  and  at  the  lateness  of  his  visit,  I  asked 
him,  '  Why  do  you  think  so  ?'  He  replied  as  follows: 
*  About  eight  o'clock  this  evening,  I  went  up  to  my 
hay-mow,  to  give  hay  to  my  cattle,  and  while  there 
the  Spirit  of  God  came  upon  me,  and  has  kept  me 
there  praying  until  now.  I  feel  that  God  is  about  to 
revive  his  work,  and  I  could  not  go  in  to  my  family 
until  I  told  you.'  The  entire  simplicity  and  earnest- 
ness of  the  good  man  convinced  me  that  God  had 
vouchsafed  to  visit  his  servant.  After  some  conver- 
sation we  parted,  mutually  agreeing  to  pray  and  labor 
for  a  revival  of  religion,  and  to  engage  as  many  as  we 
could  to  do  the  same. 

"  Every  meeting  for  religious  services  was  now  to 
me  one  of  intense  interest.  A  few  days  convinced  me 
thatthespiritofprayer  was  on  the  increase.  Meetings  - 
for  prayer  were  numerously  attended.  The  church  on 
the  Sabbath  became  more  full  and  solemn ;  and  a  few 
weeks  after  that  evening  of  wrestling  with  God  on 
the  hay-mow,  found  me  in  the  midst  of  the  first  revi-  n 
val  of  my  ministry,  and  one  of  the  most  precious  I 
ever  witnessed. 

"Among  the  first  that  expressed  seriousness  was  a 


HIS   FIRST   SETTLEMENT.  147 

Miss  E .  Nicodemus. 

fashionable  and  well-educated  young  lady,  belonging 
to  one  of  our  richest  families.  She  was  the  pride  of 
a  mother  whose  ambition  it  was  to  have  her  shine 

in  elegant  society.     Miss  E expressed  a  hope  in 

Christ.  In  a  few  days  she  was  sent  to  spend  the 
winter  in  one  of  our  principal  cities  with  some  gay 
friends,  who  were  directed  to  take  her  to  all  the  fash- 
ionable amusements.  She  yielded  to  the  temptation ; 
and  when  she  returned  in  the  spring,  seemed  farther 
from  the  kingdom  of  heaven  than  ever.  Another 
refreshing  was  soon  enjoyed,  when  the  former  feelings 
of  this  young  lady  returned.  She  became  hopefully 
pious,  and  in  a  few  months  the  wife  of  a  godly  minis- 
ter. And  her  large  family,  perhaps  influenced  by  her 
example,  followed  her  into  the  fold  of  Christ. 

"  There  was  in  the  place  a  young  man,  a  profane,  but 
yet  an  industrious  mechanic.  Like  Nicodemus,  he 
came  to  me  by  night  to  know  what  he  should  do  to 
be  saved.  His  feelings  seemed  of  the  most  pungent 
character,  and  his  visits  were  often  repeated.  He 
thought  he  understood,  and  could  joyfully  embrace, 
the  plan  of  salvation  through  Jesus  Christ.  Yielding 
to  the  influence  of  one  wicked  companion,  in  a  few 
weeks  he  forsook  the  house  of  prayer  and  the  people 
of  God.  As  long  as  I  knew  him  afterward,  he  was 
among  the  most  obdurate  men  I  ever  knew.  He  rip- 
ened for  ruin ;  and  not  long  ago,  with  one  stroke,  as 
the  woodman  removes  the  saplings  out  of  his  way, 
God  cut  him  down.  It  is  a  fearful  thing  to  quench 
the  Spirit ! 

"  Mr.  C was  a  pleasant,  moral,  and  interesting 


148  HIS   FIRST  SETTLEMENT. 

Awakened.  Accident. 

man.  Under  the  prayers  and  conversations  of  a  pious 
mother,  he  grew  up  a  friend  to  the  institutions  of  re- 
ligion. His  mind  became  deeply  interested.  But  a 
more  convenient  season  was  always  an  excuse  for  the 
putting  aside  of  present  duty.  In  the  midst  of  the 
revival,  when  some  of  the  sturdy  cedars  of  Lebanon 
were  bowing,  his  aged  mother,  and  with  tears,  be- 
sought him  to  make  God  his  portion.  ' Mother,'  said  he, 
'you  are  dependent  upon  me  for  a  subsistence,  and  so 
are  my  motherless  children.  To  provide  for  you  all 
is  my  pleasure  and  my  duty.  I  am  now  engaged  in  a 
very  profitable  work  among  the  mountains,  and  when 
I  have  made  enough  to  support  you  all  comfortably, 
in  connection  with  my  own  industry,  I  promise  you  I 
will  attend  to  religion ;  but  you  must  excuse  me  now.' 
And  with  a  solemn  warning  against  the  folly  of  such 
reasoning  from  the  lips  of  his  aged  mother,  he  hast- 
ened to  his  business  among  the  mountains.  On  the 
evening  of  the  third  day  from  his  departure,  he  was 
brought  back  to  that  mother,  and  was  laid  at  her  feet 
a  mutilated  corpse.  Before  he  could  escape  its  track, 
a  log  of  timber,  rolling  down  a  steep  precipice,  caught 
him,  and,  rolling  over  him,  almost  ground  him  to  pow- 
der. And  as  we  laid  him  down  in  the  grave,  I  heard 
that  mother  exclaim,  in  the  bitterness  of  her  sorrow, 
'  Would  to  God  I  had  died  for  thee,  my  son,  my  son !' 
Oh,  the  folly  of  boasting  of  to-morrow,  as  we  know 
not  what  a  day  may  bring  forth ! 

"  Some  of  our  pious  people  undertook  the  circula- 
tion of  religious  tracts.  The  tract  '  The  Way  to  be 
Saved'  was  selected  for  the  purpose  of  placing  in  the 


HIS   FIRST  SETTLEMEIiT.  149 


Man's  wrath. 


hands  of  our  people  a  plain  and  simple  guide  to  the 
Savior  of  sinners.  One  of  these  was  placed  in  the  shop 
of  a  mechanic  who  was  noted  for  his  profanity  and 
vulgarity.  Blotting  out  the  word  'saved'  in  the  title 
of  the  tract,  he  wrote  in  its  place  '  damned,'  so  that  the 
title,  thus  amended,  read  '  The  Way  to  be  Damned.' 
Now  tearing  it  nearly  in  two,  he  flung  it  into  the  street. 
It  was  soon  picked  up  by  a  young  woman,  deeply  se- 
rious, and  who,  although  shocked  by  its  title,  carried 
it  home.  She  read  it  with  care.  She  pasted  the  torn 
leaves  together,  and  read  it  again  and  again.  She 
went  as  directed,  and  found  peace  and  joy  in  believ- 
ing. And  in  a  conversation  with  her  about  her  hope, 
she  drew  from  her  bosom  this  mutilated  tract,  saying, 
'  This  is  the  little  book  that  told  me  the  way  to  the 
cross.'  If  yet  alive,  I  have  no  doubt  she  preserves  it 
among  her  choicest  treasures.  Thus  it  is  that  God 
often  makes  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  him. 

"  Many  instances  like  these  occurred  during  that  re- 
vival, which  the  time  would  fail  me  to  enumerate. 
But  even  these  emphatically  teach  us, 

"  1.  That  when  faithfully  and  prayerfully  discharg- 
ing duty,  ministers  must  not  be  unduly  discouraged  by 
unpropitious  external  circumstances.  If  they  go  forth 
weeping,  bearing  precious  seed,  they  will  return  again 
with  rejoicing,  bringing  their  sheaves  with  them. 

"  2.  They  teach  us  the  power  of  prayer.  It  moves 
the  hand  that  moves  the  world.  That  revival,  with 
its  consequent  blessings,  I  have  ever  traced,  under  God, 
to  that  prayer  on  the  hay -mow.  The  prayer  that  God 
inspires  He  will  answer. 


150  HIS   FIRST   SETTLEMENT. 

Pearls.  New  relations. 

"  3.  They  teach  us  the  awful  guilt  of  parents  who 
sacrifice  the  souls  of  their  children  at  the  shrines  of 
worldly  ambition.  And,  alas !  how  many  such  parents 
there  are ! 

4.  "  They  utter  warning  notes  in  the  ears  of  those 
who  quench  the  strivings  of  the  Spirit,  or  who  post- 
pone the  duty  of  submission  to  God  now  to  an  uncer- 
tain future. 

6.  "They  teach  us  that  even  pearls  cast  before 
swine  may  not  be  in  vain.  Through  the  wickedness 
of  the  wicked,  God  is  ever  accomplishing  his  purposes 
of  love.  How  invincible  the  combined  agencies  of 
mercy,  when  even  one  mutilated  tract  becomes  the  in- 
strument of  life  from  the  dead  to  a  human  soul ! 

"  Years  have  passed  away  since  this  revival  occur- 
red. Some  of  its  subjects  have  already  entered  on  its 
reward.  That  simple-hearted,  pious  German  has  gone 
up  to  his  Savior.  But  the  influences  of  that  prayer 
on  the  hay-mow  will  live  forever.  Good  men  never 
die ;  they  rest  from  their  labors,  but  their  works  do 
follow  them.  May  our  churches  never  want  members 
like  him  who  wrestled  and  prevailed  with  God  on  the 
hay-mow." 

While  Mr.  Murray  was  in  Philadelphia,  connected 
with  the  American  Tract  Society's  operations,  he  had 
interested  the  ladies  of  that  city  in  the  distribution  of 
tracts,  and  had  also  identified  himself  with  other  de- 
partments of  Christian  benevolence.  In  his  visits  to 
the  various  churches  he  became  interested  in  the  Sab- 
bath-school of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  and  he 


HIS   FIRST  SETTLEMENT.  151 

Miss  Rhees.  Rev.  Mr.  Rhees. 

took  charge  of  a  class  of  boys  wbo  had  up  to  that  time 
been  under  the  care  of  Miss  EUza  J.  Khees.  These 
boys  became  the  objects  of  his  deepest  solicitude.  He 
increased  the  class  by  adding  to  it  several  from  the 
Sixth  Presbyterian  Church,  and  he  had  the  joy  and 
reward  of  knowing  that  they  were  converted  to  God ; 
and  some  of  them  are  now  well  known  in  Philadel- 
phia as  useful  citizens  and  elders  in  the  churches 
there. 

The  young  lady  whose  class  of  boys  he  took  upon 
his  hands  was  to  be  the  partner  of  his  future  labors, 
and  to  relieve  him  of  a  thousand  cares.  The  acquaint- 
ance formed  in  these  fields  of  Christian  labor  grew 
into  a  holy  affection,  which  continued  through  life. 
She  was  the  daughter  of  a  distinguished  and  eloquent 
"Welsh  clergyman,  whose  remarkable  history  was  writ- 
ten by  Dr.  Murray  for  the  American  Pulpit  of  Dr. 
Sprague,  and  is  worthy  of  being  recorded  in  this  con- 
nection : 

"  Morgan  John  Rhees  was  born  in  Glamorganshire, 
Wales,  on  the  8th  of  December,  1760,  the  son  of  high- 
ly respectable  aad,pious  parents.  As  he  early  evinced 
superior  talents,  and  a  great  love  for  study,  they  gave 
him  a  finished  education.  He  first  devoted  himself 
to  teaching,  and  soon  acquired  a  high  reputation  for 
brilliant  writing  and  eloquence.  He  became  hope- 
fully pious,  and  connected  himself  with  the  Baptist 
Church,  which  was  the  Church  of  his  fathers.  After 
a  full  consideration  of  his  duty,  he  consecrated  him- 
self to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  and,  to  prepare  for 
his  high  calling,  he  entered  the  Baptist  College  at 


152  HIS   FIRST  SETTLEMENT. 

Liberty.  Comes  to  America. 

Bristol.  On  leaving  the  college  lie  was  ordained 
over  the  Church  of  Peny-Garn,  in  Monmouth,  where 
he  labored  with  great  ability  and  success,  and  where 
traditions  illustrating  his  power  and  eloquence  are 
yet  abroad  among  the  people.  While  here  he  wrote 
many  sacred  lyrics  and  other  poetical  pieces, 'which 
are  yet  in  high  repute  among  his  countrymen. 

"With  a  soul  all  alive  to  the  wrongs  of  the  op- 
pressed, and  to  the  universal  extension  of  liberty,  he 
became  an  enthusiastic  advocate,  at  its  commence- 
ment, of  the  French  Revolution.  Indeed,  he  resigned 
his  charge,  and  went  over  to  France  in  order  to  wit- 
ness the  glorious  triumphs  of  liberty.  He  was,  how- 
ever, soon  convinced  of  the  unprincipled  selfishness 
of  the  chief  actors  in  that  memorable  drama,  and  re- 
turned to  Wales  determined  to  defend  his  own  prin- 
ciples the  more  zealously,  and  for  this  purpose  he 
established  a  quarterly  magazine,  called  the  '  Welsh 
Treasury.'  In  this,  with  high  eloquence  and  terrible 
sarcasm,  he  exposed  the  policy  of  the  English  min- 
istry. But  he  was  compelled  to  relinquish  it;  and 
knowing  that  he  was  suspected  of  being  friendly  to 
the  French  interests,  and  that  the  Tory  ministry  only 
needed  a  fair  pretext  to  subject  him  to  prosecution,\ 
he  called  many  of  his  friends  around  him,  and,  as  the 
protector  of  a  Welsh  colony,  came  to  America,  where 
he  landed  in  February,  1794. 

"lie  was  most  kindly  received  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Rodgers,  then  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  in 
Philadelphia,  and  provost  of  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania.    Between  these  two  there  existed  ever  after 


HIS   FIRST  SETTLEMENT.  153 


Dr.  Kuah. 


a  cordial  friendship.  Finding  the  civil  institutions  of 
the  country  in  harmony  with  all  his  political  views 
and  nothing  in  the  way  of  religious  intolerance  to 
fan  his  excitable  feelings,  the  religious  sentiment 
soon  rose  to  the  supremacy  in  his  heart,  and,  as  if  he 
had  never  turned  aside  from  the  ministry,  he  again 
preached  the  Gospel  with  great  power  and  success. 
He  was  followed  by  admiring  crowds  wherever  he 
spoke,  and  preached  Christ  with  an  earnestness  and  an 
unction  but  rarely  witnessed  since  the  days  of  Whit- 
field. He  traveled  extensively  through  the  Southern 
and  Western  States,  preaching  the  Gospel  of  the  King- 
dom, and  in  search  of  a  suitable  location  for  his  colo- 
ny. On  his  return  to  Philadelphia  he  married  the 
daughter  of  Col.  Benjamin  Loxley,  of  that  city,  who 
was  an  officer  of  the  army  of  the  Eevolution,  and  a 
man  of  high  character  and  standing.  After  two  years' 
residence  in  Philadelphia,  he,  in  connection  with  Dr. 
Benjamin  Eush,  purchased  a  large  tract  of  land  in 
Pennsylvania,  which,  in  honor  of  his  native  country, 
he  called  Cambria.  He  also  located  and  planned  the 
capital  of  the  county,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of 
Beulah.  To  this  place  he  removed  his  own  family, 
with  a  company  of  Welsh  emigrants,  in  1798,  which 
was  increased  from  year  to  year  by  others  from  the 
principality. 

"  Here  he  was  intensely  occupied,  for  several  years, 
with  the  duties  which  devolved  upon  him  as  a  large 
landed  proprietor,  and  as  pastor  of  the  Church  of 
Beulah.  For  the  benefit  of  his  increasing  family,  he 
was  induced  to  remove  to  Samerset,  in  Somerset  Coun- 
G  2 


154  HIS   FIBST   SETTLEMENT. 

His  death.  Sympathy. 

ty,  where  he  died  of  a  sudden  attack  of  pleurisy,  and 
in  the  triumphs  of  faith,  on  the  7th  of  December,  1804, 
in  the  forty-fourth  year  of  his  age.  Indeed,  his  de- 
parture seemed  rather  a  translation  than  a  death.  He 
left  a  widow  and  five  children  to  mourn  his  loss. 

"The  following  letter  was  addressed  by  Dr.Eush  to 
Mrs.  Khees,  in  reference  to  the  death  of  her  husband, 
and  it  shows  the  writer's  exquisite  sensibility  and  sym- 
pathy, as  well  as  his  high  appreciation  of  Mr.  Ehees' 
character : 

"  '  My  dear  Madam, — Accept  of  my  sympathy  in 
your  affliction.  While  you  deplore  the  loss  of  an 
excellent  husband,  I  lament  the  loss  of  a  sincere  and 
worthy  friend.  His  memory  will  always  be  dear  to 
me.  Be  assured  of  my  regard  for  you  and  your  little 
family.  May  a  kind  and  gracious  Providence  support 
you!  And  may  you  yet  have  reason  to  praise  the 
orphan's  Father  and  the  widow's  God  in  the  land  of 
the  living ! 

" '  From,  my  dear  madam,  your  sincere  friend, 

" '  Benjamin  Kush. 

"  'Philadelphia,  January  26th,  1805.' 

"A  glowing  but  chastened  enthusiasm  was  a  leading 
characteristic  of  Mr.  Ehees,  and  gave  form  and  hue  to 
his  entire  life.  He  had  a  highly  poetic  temperament. 
This  was  apparent  from  his  earliest  life — not  merely 
from  the  lyrics  of  which  he  was  the  author,  but  from 
the  ardor  with  which  he  devoted  himself  to  every  sub- 
ject which  interested  him.     He  was,  while  orthodox 


HIS   FIKST  SEITLEMENT.  155 

Distinguished  men.  Mrs.  lilice^. 

himself,  a  liberal  in  religion  and  a  democrat  in  politics. 
Hence  he  was  a  lover  of  all  good  men,  and  threw  the 
mantle  of  charity  even  over  persons  whose  opinions 
he  considered  honest  though  unsound.  Hence  he  was 
the  intimate  friend  of  Dr.  Priestley,  and  of  Jefferson, 
while  utterly  eschewing  their  religious  opinions,  be- 
cause they  agreed  with  him  on  the  agitating  political 
topics  of  the  day.  He  was  a  most  fervent  preacher 
and  orator,  and  gave  to  his  sentiments  a  point  and  in- 
tensity which  made  them  deeply  felt.  And  down  to 
the  present  day,  his  name  is  as  ointment  poured  forth 
among  the  old  settlers  of  Cambria  and  Beulah.  And 
if  any  excuse  is  necessary  for  the  degree  to  which  he 
united  the  religious  and  the  political  in  his  life,  it  may 
be  found  in  the  circumstances  of  his  times,  which  in- 
duced many  of  the  ablest  divines  of  his  native  and 
adopted  country  to  pursue  the  same  course. 

"  Mrs,  Ehees  was  a  woman  of  high  character.  On 
her  great  bereavement  she  returned  to  her  native 
home,  where,  upon  her  patrimonial  inheritance,  she 
educated  her  children,  and  lived  to  see  them  all  not 
only  members  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  but  filling  posts 
of  high  honor  and  usefulness.  Endowed  with  a  mind 
of  the  strongest  original  texture,  polished  by  educa- 
tion, stored  by  reading  and  reflection,  and  by  grace 
subdued  to  the  most  humble  obedience  to  the  truth, 
she  was  efficient  in  action,  wise  in  counsel,  strong  in 
faith,  and  untiring  in  doing  good.  A  spirit  of  self- 
sacrifice,  connected  with  the  deepest  humility,  was  her 
leading  characteristic.  But  few  have  lived  a  life  more 
consistent  and  lovely,  or  died  a  death  more  cheerful. 


156  HIS   FIRST  SETTLEMENT. 

Marriage.  No  bridegroom. 

calm,  and  confiding.  She  rested  from  her  labors  on 
the  11th  of  April,  1849,  in  the  seventy-fourth  year  of 
her  age. 

"  The  earlier  productions  of  Mr.  Rhees  were  pub- 
lished in  the  Welsh  language,  but  few  of  them  have 
been  translated.  The  few  orations  and  discourses, 
written  and  published  by  him  in  this  country,  exhibit 
great  vivacity  and  eloquence." 

The  daughter  of  Mr.  Rhees  had  been  for  nearly 
three  years  engaged  to  be  married  to  Mr.  Murray.  In 
the  month  of  January,  1830,  he  went  to  Philadelphia 
to  bring  back  his  bride.  It  was  then  more  of  a  jour- 
ney than  it  is  now,  to  cross  the  rough  country,  in  the 
midst  of  winter,  in  the  old  stage-coach.  The  day  was 
appointed  for  the  marriage,  and  he  left  Wilkesbarre 
in  time,  but  the  course  of  true  love  did  not  run  even 
so  smoothly  as  usual  in  this  case.  The  day  arrived, 
but  the  bridegroom  came  not.  The  evening  came, 
and  the  hour,  but  no  bridegroom.  There  was  no  tele- 
graph to  announce  the  cause  of  detention,  but  it  was 
soon  ascertained  that  the  stage  had  not  arrived.  The 
next  day  brought  him  on,  bruised  and  sore,  but  still 
alive  and  well.  The  coach  had  been  upset  near  Beth- 
lehem, and  several  of  the  passengers  injured.  Mr.  ^ 
Murray  escaped  with  a  cut  on  one  of  his  fingers, 
which  required  a  surgical  dressing,  and  the  circular 
scar  which  he  always  carried  he  called  his  wedding 
ring.  The  marriage  was  deferred  a  week,  and  then 
he  carried  his  wife  away  to  his  new  home.  It  was  a 
cold  and  fearful  journey,  and  the  delicate  bride  would 
have  suffered  by  the  way  but  for  the  buoyant  spirits 


HIS  FIRST  SETTLEMENT.  157 

The  ride.  ArrivaL 

and  unfailing  humor  of  the  young  husband,  which 
kept  the  company  in  a  state  of  pleasurable  and  health- 
ful excitement  all  the  way.  They  spent  a  Sabbath  at 
Easton,  where  Mr.  Murray  preached  for  Kev.  Dr.  Gray. 
The  journey  over  the  mountain  on  Monday  and  Tues- 
day was  made  in  an  open  sleigh,  in  bitter  cold,  but  on 
the  second  day  they  reached  Wilkesbarre,  and  were 
cordially  greeted  by  a  circle  of  refined,  cultivated,  and 
devoted  friends,  who  at  once  made  the  minister's 
young  wife  at  home  among  them. 


158  VALLEY  OF  WYOMING. 

The  Valley.  Other  scenes. 


CHAPTEE  IX. 

The  Valley  of  Wyoming. —The  Freshets.— The  Drift-wood.— A 
Type  of  Society. — A  Classmate  and  two  more. — Other  Characters 
drawn. 

The  beauties  of  the  Valley  of  Wyoming,  as  they 
never  weary  the  eye  of  the  dweller  or  the  visitor,  were 
often  the  theme  of  Dr.  Murray,  when  he  would  draw 
striking  and  strong  illustrations.  One  of  his  most 
characteristic  sketches  was  suggested  by  the  habits  of 
a  class  of  people  among  whom  he  was  first  settled. 
He  writes : 

"  It  has  been  my  lot  to  wander  upon  foreign  shores. 
I  have  gazed  upon  Italian  skies  and  scenes;  I  have 
wandered  over  the  mountains  and  vales  of  Switzer- 
land ;  I  have  traversed  the  Ehine,  the  Ehonc,  the 
Clyde ;  I  have  gazed  upon  most  of  the  beautiful  scen- 
ery of  Britain,  and  yet  I  turn  to  Wyoming  as  unsur- 
passed in  quiet  beauty  by  any  vale  that  I  have  ever 
seen. 

'"A  valley  from  the  river  shore  withdrawn; 
m  *  *  *  <n 

So  sweet  a  spot  of  earth,  you  might,  I  ween, 

Have  pucssed  some  congregation  of  the  elves, 

To  sport  by  summer  moon,  had  shaped  it  for  themsolvcs.' 

"The  river  by  which  it  is  divided,  enriched  and 
greatly  beautified,  is  subject  to  freshets.  This  is  caused, 
in  the  spring,  by  the  sudden  melting  of  the  snow  in 


VALLEY  OF  WYOMING.  159 

The  freshets.  Drift-wood. 

the  mountain  ranges  in  which  it  has  its  rise,  and  at 
other  seasons  of  the  year  by  heavy  rains.  When 
swollen,  as  I  have  often  seen  it,  it  rushes  on  with  fear-, 
ful  rapidity  and  violence,  sweeping  to  destruction  ev- 
ery thing  that  lies  in  its  way ;  and,  when  thus  swollen, 
often  have  I  stood  on  its  banks  and  gazed  with  trem- 
bling on  the  terrific  current,  sweeping  away  houses, 
mills,  trees  torn  from  its  banks,  and  rotten  wood  of  all 
kinds  and  sizes,  and  whirling  them  in  every  direction 
as  if  they  were  but  corks. 

"  These  freshets  were  occasions  of  some  importance 
to  that  class  of  people,  too  large  in  every  community, 
who  live  by  their  wits.  These,  taking  their  position 
on  the  bank  of  the  river,  with  fit  implements,  were  la- 
borious in  their  efforts  to  fish  from  the  turbulent  cur- 
rent the  floating  timbers.  They  were  often  success- 
ful, and  in  a  few  days  would  pile  on  the  shore  drift- 
wood enough  to  supply  them  with  fuel  for  a  few 
months.  It  was  quite  amusing  to  witness  the  scenes 
which  often  occurred.  When  a  large  timber  was  seen 
in  the  distance,  each  was  anxious  to  be  its  captor. 
One  would  harpoon  it,  and  when  shouting  out '  I  have 
it,'  the  force  of  the  current  would  sweep  it  away ;  and 
thus  many  would  successively  harpoon  it,  but  yet  it 
would  escape  from  them  all.  The  size  of  the  log  and 
the  force  of  the  current  gave  it  a  momentum  that  no 
arm  could  resist.  Great  exertion  was  often  made  to 
bring  a  drift  to  the  shore ;  but,  when  caught,  it  was 
found  worthless,  and  was  cast  back  again  into  the  foam- 
ing waters.  At  a  sharp  turn  in  the  river  much  lum- 
ber was  driven  on  shore,  and  to  that  spot  many  would 


160  VALLEY  OF  WYOMING. 

Floating.  C^'ompari^on. 

rush,  hoping  there  to  catch  a  fine  log,  but  it  would 
shoot  round  the  corner  and  disappoint  them  all.  Some 
lumber  would  float  into  an  eddy,  or  would  get  entan- 
gled among  the  trees  on  the  low  bottoms,  or  would  be 
caught  by  a  pier,  where  it  was  considered  secure ;  but, 
on  a  sudden,  the  power  of  the  current  would  drive  it 
into  the  middle  of  the  river,  and  down  it  would  go, 
disappointing  all  hopes.  When  the  freshet  rapidly 
subsided,  much  lumber  was  left  upon  the  dry  land, 
there  to  remain  until  another  should  come  and  carry 
it  farther  down  toward  the  ocean.  It  was  not  even 
picked  up  as  fuel  for  the  fire.  One  thing  was  very 
observable,  that  the  drift-wood  was  but  rarely  fitted 
to  be  wrought  into  a  building,  or  to  be  used  for  any 
ornamental  purpose.  It  was  usually  gathered  into 
heaps,  and  when  sufiiciently  dry,  to  be  burned. 

"  And  all  this  is  but  the  type  of  what  is  constantly 
occurring  in  society  around  us.  Are  there  not  freshets 
in  society  as  upon  our  great  rivers ;  excitements,  po- 
litical, moral,  and  religious,  which  work  great  changes, 
which  reveal  men  of  principle,  which  tear  up  and  send 
adrift  those  not  rooted  and  grounded  in  the  truth  ?  In 
what  community  or  in  what  calling  are  not  persons  to 
be  found  whose  only  fit  emblem  is  drift-wood  ? 

"  I  had  a  college-mate  of  many  good  qualities.  He 
was  fluent,  rapid  in  his  conceptions,  a  professor  of  re- 
ligion, but  vain  and  ambitious.  He  was  a  candidate 
for  the  ministry.  But  there  were  indications  that  his 
vanity  was  stronger  than  his  principles,  and  that  to 
feed  the  one  he  would  sacrifice  the  other.  The  fresh- 
et came  in  our  Junior  year,  when,  on  the  giving  out 


VALLEY  OF  WYOMING.  161 


New  measures. 


of  the  appointments  which  indicated  the  standing  of 
the  students  as  scholars,  he  failed  to  obtain  any.  He 
expected  one  of  the  highest;  he  got  none.     His  pride 

was  mortified  beyond  endurance — he  left  college he 

gave  up  the  ministry — he  made  shipwreck  of  faith- 
he  went  out  upon  the  sweeping  tide  of  politics,  where, 
no  doubt,  unless  radically  changed,  his  principles  are 
yet  the  weaker,  and  his  vanity  the  stronger  power. 
Such  persons  can  never  be  any  thing  but  drift-wood. 
"  I  had  a  theological  classmate  of  very  good  quali- 
ties.   He  was  good-looking— he  dressed  well  — he 
wrote  poetry— he  flattered,  and  was  flattered  by,  the 
ladies.     He  knew  more  about  Tom  Moore  than  Tur- 
retin ;  he  read  Greek  less  than  Goethe ;  he  preferred 
Walter  to  Thomas  Scott,  and  could  quote  Byron  at 
least  as  well  as  the  Bible.     Vanity  was  his  besetting 
sin.     He  got  license  to  preach,  but  could  get  no  settle- 
ment.    Thinking  that  the  people  of  the  Church  of  his 
fathers  were  too  dull  to  appreciate  his  shining  quali- 
ties, he  passed  over  to  another.     To  be  in  keeping 
with  his  high  flights,  he  became  High-Church,  and 
whither  the  freshet  has  carried  him  I  know  not.     He 
has  written  a  book,  as  I  learn,  on  '  The  Succession,' 
of  which  he  knows  as  much  as  about  the  precession 
of  the  equinoxes,  and  which  has  only  served  to  prove 
that  he  was,  or  is,  drift-wood, 

"  I  had  yet  another  fellow-student.  He  was  young, 
ruddy,  and  prepossessing.  Although  yet  in  his  teens' 
he  was  deeply  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  New  Meas- 
ures, then  on  the  high  tide  of  successful  experiment. 
He  denounced  his  teachers  as  pharisees  and  fogies. 


162  VALLEY   OF  WYOMING. 

Goes  abroad.  The  current. 

While  yet  a  student,  be  practiced  his  new  notions  in 
a  small  way.  Finding  but  little  encouragement  for 
his  novelties,  he  changed  his  latitude  for  more  con- 
genial climes.  He  entered  the  ministry  a  New-meas- 
ure man,  greatly  exciting  the  hopes  of  their  friends. 
He  went  abroad,  and  became  enamored  of  the  old, 
petrified  measures  of  the  Old  World,  and  on  his  re- 
turn deserted  his  former  friends.  Now,  excitements 
were  only  injurious,  and  Church  power  and  set  forms 
were  every  thing.  This  was  a  change  from  the  equa- 
tor to  the  poles.  For  a  while  he  linked  himself  with 
the  straitest  sects  of  the  Church  of  his  fathers,  but  that 
did  not  long  suffice.  He  was  on  the  bosom  of  the 
swollen  river,  and  could  not  stop.  At  a  bound  he  be- 
came a  Puseyite,  and,  whether  for  funds  or  to  make 
friends,  wrote  one  of  the  most  disgraceful  and  truth- 
less books  known  to  theological  controversy  in  mod- 
ern days.  The  book  by  '  One  of  Three  Hundred' 
proves,  at  least,  that  its  author  was  of  the  drift-wood 
species.  He  had  no  root  in  himself;  he  was  the  prey 
of  every  current ;  and  if  he  had  remained  a  little  long- 
er, another  swell  of  the  freshet  would  have  swept  him 
from  his  Oxford  eddy,  and  would  have  left  him  deep 
in  the  mud  of  the  Tiber,  praying  to  the  Virgin  to  takes 
him  out  and  clean  him  off. 

"Another  specimen  of  the  same  genus.  He  was 
bold,  bluff,  and  self-confident.  When  a  student  he 
went  to  three  colleges,  and  claimed  credit  for  it !  He 
went,  at  least,  to  three  seminaries,  to  get  the  good  of 
each.  He  was  educated  a  Presbyterian,  ordained  a 
Congregationalist,  became,  I  believe,  a  Methodist,  then 


VALLEY   OF  WYOMING.  163 


Changing. 


a  Baptist ;  but  what  he  now  is  I  know  not,  nor  does 
he  know  himself.  Each  thought  they  had  him,  but 
he  escaped  from  them  all.  The  harpoon  entered  the 
log  in  a  soft  place,  where  it  could  not  hold.  What 
has  become  of  him  I  know  not ;  but  when  next  drawn 
to  the  shore,  he  may  be  cast  back  again  into  the  cur- 
rent as  too  worthless  to  repay  the  trouble  of  fishing 
him  out. 

"There  are  exceptions  to  all  general  rules.  In  the 
course  of  his  studies,  a  young  man  may  see  reasons 
sufficient  to  leave  the  Church  of  his  early  education 
for  some  other.  No  man  is  bound  to  the  faith  of  his 
fathers,  because,  if  so,  the  Jew  must  remain  a  Jew,  the 
pagan  a  pagan,  the  papist  a  papist,  forever.  No  young 
man  is  to  be  censured  for  departing  from  the  faith  of 
his  fathers,  if  he  does  so  for  reasons,  and  wisely.  But 
when  men  have  formed  their  opinions,  and  preached 
them  for  years,  and  then  change  them,  it  is  an  evi- 
dence of  a  restless,  disordered  state  of  mind.  One  or 
two  attacks  of  any  disease  render  the  system  liable  to 
its  return ;  and  one  or  two  changes  in  opinions  are  lia- 
ble to  convert  the  individual  into  a  changeling,  and  to 
send  him  out  upon  the  stream  of  life  as  drift-wood. 

"And  how  many  there  are  connected,  as  private 
members,  with  the  churches  whose  only  fit  emblem  is 
drift-wood.  They  go  here  and  there  as  prejudice,  or 
passion,  or  fashion,  or  some  disappointment  may  sway 
them.  I  knew  an  elder  twice  censured  in  a  Presby- 
tery, who,  in  revenge,  became  a  most  violent  High- 
Churchman,  and  had  all  his  children  rebaptized  for 
conscience'  sake!     Mr.  and  family  were  from 


164  VALLEY  OF  WYOMING. 

Millerites.  Jso  root. 

England;  according  to  their  own  showing,  they  left 
the  husks  of  the  Establishment  for  the  simple  truth 
of  the  Independents.  They  then  attached  themselves 
to  the  ministry  of  some  supralapsarian  shoemaker. 
They  came  to  this  country,  but  for  a  long  time  could 
find  no  suitable  successor  to  the  shoemaker.  As  I 
was  considered  as  coming  nearest  to  him,  they  placed 
themselves  under  my  ministry.  For  a  time  they 
would  have  plucked  out  their  eyes  and  given  them 
to  me ;  but  the  Millerite  fever  became  epidemic,  and 
they  caught  it  badly.  The  fanatics  of  that  threadbare 
nonsense  became  their  favorites.  I  no  longer  preach- 
ed the  Gospel,  because  I  did  not  preach  up  the  de- 
struction of  the  world  about  Easter,  and  advise  the 
faithful  to  commence  cutting  their  ascension  robes. 
They  were  swept  out  as  drift-wood  upon  the  bosom 
of  the  freshet,  but  where  it  has  carried  them  is  hardly 
worth  the  inquiry. 

"And  persons  of  whom  drift-wood  is  the  true  em- 
blem are  to  be  found  in  every  community,  and  attach- 
ed to  all  congregations.  They  are  as  numerous  as 
those  who  are  ungoverned  by  fixed  principles.-  There 
are  those  in  the  ministry  who  can  pass  from  this  body 
to  that,  from  this  school  to  that,  with  all  ease.  These  ^ 
regard  themselves,  and  would  be  regarded  by  others, 
as  moderate  and  catholic.  But  there  is  another  ex- 
planation for  all  this;  their  own  lines  of  opinion  arc 
drawn  with  invisible  ink,  and  can  be  shifted  to  suit 
circumstances;  they  have  no  root  in  themselves. 
There  arc  those  in  the  churches  upon  whom  you  can 
make  no  calculation.     The  next  freshet  may  carry 


VALLEY   OF  WYOMING.  165 

Dr.  I'riestlty.  Steadfastness. 

them  into  some  new  connection,  or  work  a  change  in 
their  entire  views  and  feelings.  I  look  around  me, 
and  see  persons  who  have  been  connected  with  three 
churches  in  less  than  three  years.  I  see  others  who 
have  passed  from  one  denomination  to  another  be- 
cause their  minister  did  not  like  secret  societies,  or 
preach  up,  to  the  point  of  scalding  heat,  the  efficacy 
of  some  plans  of  social  reform.  And  there  are  but 
few  churches  in  the  land  where  the  freshets  to  which 
human  opinions  and  society  are  ever  liable  have  not 
deposited  some  of  this  drift-wood,  where  it  will  remain 
until  the  rise  of  another  freshet,  when  it  will  be  again 
swept  out  and  whirled  we  know  not  whither.  When 
the  tree  is  torn  up  by  the  roots  and  swept  into  the 
current,  there  is  no  telling  where  it  will  stop ;  and  if 
brought  to  shore,  it  will  be  difficult  to  replant  it.  It 
will  not  pay  for  the  labor.  Dr.  Priestley  was  once  a 
high  Calvinist,  then  a  low  one;  then  an  Arminian; 
then  a  high  Arian,  then  a  low  one ;  then  a  Unitarian ; 
then  a  Humanitarian ;  and  he  was  once  heard  to  say, 
*  If  God  spares  me  a  few  years  more,  I  know  not  what 
I  shall  be  before  I  die.'  When  a  stone  is  started  on 
the  brow  of  the  mountain,  it  is  hard  to  stop  it  until  it 
reaches  the  bottom. 

"  Many  make  a  great  noise  when  a  minister,  or  per- 
sons in  high  position,  pass  over  to  them.  But  they 
have  caught  only  drift-wood.  How  long  they  can 
keep  them  is  uncertain;  and  to  what  use  they  can 
put  them  is  often  a  question. 

"  There  are  those  who  are  steadfast,  immovable,  al- 
ways abounding  in  the  works  of  the  Lord,  and  those 


166  VALLEY   OF   WYOMING. 

Cedars.  Drift-wood. 

who  are  ever  learning  and  never  coming  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  truth.  The  first  are  as  the  cedars  in  Leb- 
anon, that  bear  fruit  even  to  old  age,  and  that  are  fit 
to  be  converted  to  the  most  useful  purposes  in  the 
house  of  the  Lord;  the  second  are  but  drifl-wood, 
scarcely  fit  to  feed  the  fires  that  warm  it." 


IN   LABORS  ABUNDANT.  167 

Two  churches.  Forty  Fort. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Zeal  and  Self-denial. — The  People. — Their  want  of  Panctuality. — 
Free-thinkers  and  Infidels.  —  Characteristic  Letter  from  one  of 
them. — A  Protracted  Meeting. — A  Lawyer  enraged. — Beasts  at 
Ephesus. — Is  invited  to  go  West. — Declines. — Builds  a  new  Church. 

Two  congregations,  on  opposite  sides  of  the  river, 
were  now  upon  his  hands.  A  small  church  was  at 
Kingston,  with  no  house  of  worship  except  an  old 
building  at  Forty  Fort,  where  he  preached  every  Sab- 
bath morning.  This  is  a  famous  spot  in  early  Amer- 
ican history,  and  is  associated  with  the  bloody  story 
of  the  Massacre  of  Wyoming.  Here  he  lectured  every 
week,  spending  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  of  the 
lecture  in  visiting  his  people  from  house  to  house. 
Up  among  the  mountains,  in  the  most  retired  and 
difficult  passes,  he  sought  his  sheep,  gathered  them 
into  the  fold,  and  under  the  influence  of  his  ministry. 
The  same  indefatigable  energy,  the  same  zeal  and  per- 
severance that  had  marked  his  pursuit  of  knowledge 
in  preparation  for  his  work,  were  now  displayed  with 
intenser  ardor  and  self  denial.  On  foot  or  on  horse- 
back, in  the  midst  of  storms  and  cold,  he  pursued  these 
labors  with  a  diligence  and  spirit  that  could  not  fail 
of  success.  Even  beyond  the  mountains,  in  North- 
moreland,  he  pressed  his  way  to  carry  the  Gospel  as  a 
volunteer  missionary  beyond  the  bounds  of  his  own 
parish,  and  there  are  now  five  or  six  churches  to  be 


168  IN   LABORS  ABUNDANT. 


Systematic. 


found  in  the  region  where  this  young  and  ardent  min- 
ister used  often  to  administer  the  sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  to  a  few  scattered  and  pious  followers 
of  Christ.  His  absence  on  these  expeditions  was  often 
protracted  to  the  anxiety  of  his  friends  in  Wilkesbarre, 
where  was  his  home ;  and  once,  when  attempting  to 
raise  his  umbrella  while  riding  on  horseback  in  a 
storm,  his  horse  threw  him  and  ran  away,  leaving  him 
to  find  his  way  home  in  the  night,  bruised  and  bat- 
tered, but  not  disheartened. 

In  Wilkesbarre  he  found  a  large,  intelligent  com- 
munity, among  whom  were  men  of  high  professional 
standing,  and  a  circle  of  cultivated  society.  It  was 
necessary  for  him,  at  the  very  outset  of  his  ministry, 
to  meet  the  demands  that  would  be  made  upon  him 
by  a  refined  and  intellectual  people ;  while  all  around 
him,  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  there  were  multitudes 
of  the  poor  and  the  ignorant,  to  whose  spiritual  wants 
it  was  at  once  his  duty  and  his  joy  without  cessation 
to  minister. 

A  more  systematic  man  in  all  his  habits,  public,  so- 
cial, and  private,  scarcely  ever  lived.  He  had  a  time 
for  every  thing,  and  every  thing  was  done  in  its  time. 
He  made  it  a  rule  in  early  life,  and  through  life,  to  do 
every  thing  as  well  as  he  could ;  and,  certainly,  the 
best  of  men  can  do  no  better. 

The  people  here  had  never  been  accustomed  to  hab- 
its of  punctuality  in  their  attendance  upon  church,  ex- 
pecting their  indulgent  minister  to  wait  until  they  had 
come  before  he  commenced  the  Sabbath  service.  Mr. 
Murray  told  them  that  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning 


IN  LABORS  ABUNDANT.  169 

Punctual.  Free-thinker. 

meant  sixty  minutes  after  nine,  and  that,  when  the 
hour  for  public  worship  had  arrived,  he  should  always 
begin,  if  there  was  one  person  present  besides  himself. 
At  first  they  came  dropping  in,  one  after  another,  un- 
til the  close  of  the  sermon;  and  many  amusing  stories 
he  could  tell  of  fat  old  ladies  coming  running,  out  of 
breath,  to  get  seated  before  the  service  began;  but, 
soon  finding  that  they  had  lost  more  than  they  could 
well  afford,  and  that  the  young  minister  was  not  dis- 
posed to  defer  to  their  laziness  and  neglect,  they  re- 
formed their  habits,  and  became  a  punctual  as  well  as 
an  attentive  congregation. 

In  this  beautiful  valley,  and  in  the  old  town  of 
"Wilkesbarre,  there  were  not  a  few  who  gloried  in  be- 
ing known  as  Free-thinkers,  though  they  would  be 
more  justly  called  infidels.  Scarcely  had  Mr.  Murray 
begun  his  labors  before  they  were  disturbed  by  his 
preaching  and  success.  Perhaps  his  keen  observation 
had  already  discovered  the  various  characters  around 
him,  and  his  natural  shrewdness  was  shown  in  direct- 
ing his  efforts  where  they  were  most  required.  Threats 
of  personal  violence  were  made  if  he  did  not  moder- 
ate his  tone.  The  following  letter,  received  by  the 
young  pastor,  would  open  his  eyes  to  the  peculiar 
wants  of  the  people  among  whom  he  had  been  settled. 
It  was  filed  away  among  his  papers,  with  this  indorse- 
ment on  the  back  of  it : 

"^n  InJideTs  Letter.  T  do  like  to  hear  the  devil  heat 
his  drum  ;  it  is  a  good  sign  that  ?u's  ranks  are  thinning." 

The  letter  is  in  these  words : 
H 


170  IN  LABORS  ABUNDANT. 

lufidel's  letter.  Advice. 

"  Wilkesbarre,  August  21. 

"  Sir, — As  a  spirit  of  free  inquiry  has  gone  abroad 
among  the  people  of  this  land,  which  will  tend  greatly 
to  decrease  the  demand  for  '  spiritual  doctors,'  I  would 
advise  you,  as  a  friend,  to  abandon  your  present  occu- 
pation, and  seek  some  more  honorable  calling  by  which 
to  obtain  a  livelihood.  I  repeat  it,  priestcraft  is  on  the 
wane  in  this  countr3^  As  the  people  become  more 
enlightened,  and  the  march  of  mind  progresses  (and 
they  become  more  capable  to  discriminate  truth  from 
falsehood — reason  from  error),  the  less  need  will  we 
have  for  the  services  of  men  of  your  profession.  The 
minds  of  the  people  '  are  being'  opened  to  your  real 
designs.  The  cord  with  which  you  have  so  long  held 
their  minds  in  bondage  is  becoming  enervated,  and 
will  soon  be  entirely  broken  and  separated.  They 
see  that  your  object  is,  not  their  own  welfare  and  hap- 
piness, but  your  own  aggrandizement — the  gratifica- 
tion of  your  own  sordid  minds.  They  have  good  rea- 
son to  believe  that  you  would  suck  their  very  life- 
blood  (as  leeches)  to  gratify  your  unhallowed  purposes. 
Your  '  four  days'  meeting'  may  probably  have  a  tend- 
ency to  prolong  their  thralldom  and  your  influence, 
but  it  will  eventually  fail  before  the  light  of  truth  and 
reason.  Veritas. 

"N.B. — I  would  advise  you,  as  a  friend,  to  adopt 
the  spirit  of  the  sentence  in  the  Book  of  Moses,  which 
is  said  to  have  come  directly  from  the  mouth  of  God : 
'  Six  days  shalt  thou  labor,'  and  instead  of  laboring 
one  day,  labor  six." 

For  such  men,  whether  they  wrote  him  anonymous 


IN  LABORS  ABUNDANT.  171 

ProUacted  meetings.  Narrative. 

letters,  like  this  from  Veritas,  or  attacked  him  openly, 
he  was  always  ready.  His  mode  of  dealing  with  them 
is  well  illustrated  in  an  account  he  gives  of  a  protract- 
ed meeting  in  a  neighboring  church,  where  he  was 
one  of  the  preachers : 

"When  I  commenced  my  ministry,  'protracted 
meetings'  were  popular,  and  the  evangelists,  by  whom 
they  were  conducted  on  the  highest  key  of  excitement, 
were  regarded  as  'the  angels  of  the  churches.'  And 
although  connected  with  a  class  of  ministers  who  nev- 
er favored  '  the  revival  evangelists,'  and  who  opposed 
the  '  new  measures'  of  which  '  anxious  seats'  were  the 
representative,  yet  we  yielded  so  far  to  the  popular 
feeling  of  the  Church  as  to  hold  protracted  meetings, 
which  were  conducted  by  ourselves,  without  foreign 
aid  and  without  new  measures.  For  the  purpose  of 
illustrating  the  power  of  the  Gospel,  and  the  kind  of 
opposition  which  it  has  not  unfrequently  to  meet,  I 
will  give  a  brief  narrative  of  one  of  those  meetings : 

"T was  a  town  of  some  importance  in  North- 
ern Pennsylvania.  Its  first  settlers  were  chiefly  from 
New  England — men  of  enterprise  and  shrewdness, 
but  without  religion.  It  became  the  county  town,  and 
had  its  court-house,  and  jail,  and  taverns,  but  no  church 
of  any  kind.  Universalism  and  infidelity  were  there, 
and  united  their  forces  to  oppose  every  effort  to  in- 
troduce the  Gospel  into  the  community.  The  only 
preaching-place  was  the  Court-house,  and,  as  every 
body  had  a  right  to  go  there,  many  thought  they  had 
a  right  to  treat  the  minister  when  preaching  as  they 
were  accustomed  to  treat  the  politician  when  making 


172  IN   LABORS  ABUNDANT. 

Meetings.  In\nted. 

a  political  liaraDgue,  and  es23ecially  to  treat  with  rude- 
ness what  did  not  agree  with  their  prejudices;  and 
this  right  was  often  queerly  exercised  by  interrupting 
a  preacher,  by  putting  questions  to  him  in  the  midst  of 
his  sermon,  by  persons  getting  up  and  leaving  the 
room,  and,  as  they  retired,  pronouncing  some  truth 
declared  to  be  a  lie.  Nor  were  these  things  done  sim- 
ply by  the  rabble;  they  were  practiced  and  counte- 
nanced by  men  of  intelligence  and  position.  These 
things,  and  the  morals  which  they  cherished,  obtained 
for  the  town,  at  a  distance,  the  name  of 'Satan's  Seat,' 
and  caused  many  a  good  minister  to  fear  to  preach  the 
Gospel  there,  lest  he  should  be  attacked  and  insulted 
by  these  emissaries  of  Satan,  these  beasts  at  Ephesus. 

"  It  was  in  this  town  that  a  neighboring  pastor  of 
excellent  and  prudent  character  resolved  to  hold  a  pro- 
tracted meeting,  and  to  invite  some  of  his  brethren  to 
his  assistance.  I  was  of  the  number  invited.  Our 
only  preaching-place  was  the  Court-house,  which  was 
duly  secured  for  our  purposes,  and  the  meeting  was 
generally  advertised  for  weeks  previous;  and  expecta- 
tion was  on  tiptoe  as  to  our  meeting,  its  disturbance, 
and  its  results.  Threats  were  made  beforehand,  and 
by  men  who  lacked  neither  the  energy  nor  the  impu- 
dence to  carry  out  their  most  wicked  purposes.  To 
be  forewarned  is  to  be  forearmed,  and  we  went  to  the 
Court-house  prepared  for  an  attack,  but  in  what  way 
it  was  to  come  we  knew  not. 

"  It  was  in  the  evening.  The  room  was  crowded. 
It  was  with  difficulty  that  the  ministers  could  make 
their  way  to  the  seat  occupied  by  the  judges  when  the 


IN  LABORS  ABUNDANT.  173 


Bad  signs. 


Preaching. 


court  was  in  session.  As  the  preliminary  services 
were  being  performed,  I  strove  to  read,  as  I  conld,  the 
crowd  around  me.  Just  beneath  me  was  the  green 
table  around  which  the  lawyers  sat  when  at  court, 
and  around  the  niche  in  that  table  sat  a  few  individ- 
uals, whose  object  in  coming  to  the  meeting  could  not 
be  mistaken.  Their  whisperings,  winkings,  and  nod- 
dings  satisfied  me  as  to  the  quarter  from  which  diffi- 
culty might  be  expected;  and  I  plainly  saw  that  they 
had  their  sympathizers  and  opposers  in  the  crowd. 
Conspicuous  among  them  was  a  Campbellite  Baptist 
preacher,  of  low  character,  and  a  lawyer  of  the  place, 
who  was  said  to  be  like  his  father,  and  a  little  more 
so;  the  character  of  that  father  was  a  hybrid,  such  as 
we  might  expect  to  be  produced  by  now  pettifogging, 
and  now  acting  as  Universalist  exhorter.  These  two 
men  were  the  leaders. 

"As  I  arose  to  preach,  I  paused  a  moment  to  take 
a  close  survey  of  these  men.     They  were  just  beneath 
me.     As  their  gaze  met  mine,  they  dropped  their 
heads.     I  saw  in  a  moment  they  were  only  braggarts 
that  could  be  soon  driven  to  the  wall.     Save  the  rust- 
ling of  their  paper,  on  which  they  were  making  notes, 
every  thing  was  quiet  to  the  close  of  the  service.     The 
moment  the  benediction  was  pronounced,  the  Camp- 
bellite Baptist  sprang  to  his  feet  and  screamed  out,  'I 
wish  to  know  whether  I  may  ask  the  preacher  a  few 
questions  ?'     The  crowd,  which  had  commenced  mov- 
mg,  was  brought  to  a  dead  pause,  and  waited  in  breath- 
less sHence  for  a  reply.     Some  felt  that  the  fight  was 
now  fairly  opened.     After  a  brief  pause,  I  replied  as 


174  IN   LABORS  ABUNDANT. 

Stating  principles.  Crowd. 

follows :  '  We  have  come  here  to  preach  the  Gospel 
for  a  few  days  to  those  who  may  choose  to  come  and 
hear  us.  One  of  our  principles  is  to  disturb  nobody 
in  their  religious  worship ;  and  another  is,  to  allow 
nobody  to  disturb  us.  There  is  a  law  to  protect  us 
from  disturbance,  and  we  shall  see  that  that  law  is 
enforced.'  Then  turning  to  the  man  who  asked  the 
question,  I  said  to  him,  '  You  are  either  an  honest  or 
dishonest  inquirer :  if  an  honest  one,  you  may  come 
to  my  lodgings,  and  I  will  answer,  as  far  as  I  am  able, 
any  of  your  questions ;  if  a  dishonest  one,  as  I  fear 
you  are,  I  wish  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  you,  here 
or  there.'  He  could  make  no  reply,  and  the  crowd 
dispersed  applauding  the  positions  taken,  but  yet  feel- 
ing that  the  end  of  the  chapter  was  not  yet. 

"  As  the  meetings  progressed,  a  deep  solemnity  was 
soon  observable.  As  the  gainsayers  were  regularly 
at  their  post,  there  was  a  constant  crowd  in  attend- 
ance, in  expectation,  daily,  of  some  conflict.  In  the 
evening  they  came  in  great  numbers  from  the  sur- 
rounding country,  and  long  before  the  hour  of  service 
the  Court-house  was  crowded  to  its  utmost  capacity. 
At  the  conclusion  of  a  deeply  solemn  service  one 
evening,  we  invited  the  serious  to  retire  to  a  room  in 
the  building  for  religious  conversation.  As  we  en- 
tered the  room,  to  our  astonishment,  we  found  there  a 
large  number  of  persons  deeply  anxious,  among  whom 
were  some  prominent  citizens;  and  conspicuous  among 
them  was  the  Campbellite  preacher  and  his  friend  the 
lawyer.  I  saw,  at  a  glance,  that  accounts  must  first  be 
settled  with  these  before  we  could  proceed ;  and,  ap- 


IN   LABORS  ABUNDANT.  175 


Impertinence. 


preaching  the  preacher,  I  asked  him  sternly,  '  What, 
sir,  is  your  object  in  coming  here  ?'  '  I  want  you,'  he 
replied, '  to  give  right  instruction  to  these  anxious  sin- 
ners; and  for  this  purpose  I  wish  you  to  read  this 
chapter.'  And,  suiting  the  action  to  the  word,  he  put 
a  small  Bible,  opened,  into  my  hands.  Amazed  at  his 
cool  impertinence,  I  returned  the  Bible,  saying,  'When, 
sir,  we  need  your  counsel  and  aid,  we  will  send  for 
you ;  and  as  we  did  not  invite  you  here,  you  will  leave 
the  room.'  And  as  it  was  now  my  turn  to  suit  the 
action  to  the  word,  I  gently  laid  my  hand  upon  his 
shoulder  and  pointed  to  the  door,  and,  to  my  surprise, 
he  went  quietly  away.  Wickedness  is  always  cow- 
ardly. 

"Having  gotten  rid  of  one  customer,  I  then  ap- 
proached the  lawyer,  who  had  obviously  more  dar- 
ing about  him  than  the  ignorant,  unmannerly  preach- 
er. '  And  what,  sir,'  said  I,  *  is  your  object  in  coming 
here  ?'  Stretching  himself  to  his  highest  altitude,  and 
in  a  semi-comic  way,  designed  to  produce  merriment 
in  that  anxious-room,  he  replied,  'You  have  said  some- 
thing in  your  sermon  to-night  about  the  devil,  and  I 
thought  I  would  come  and  ask  you  who  the  devil  is.' 
Feeling  that  it  was  one  of  those  occasions  which  would 
justify  the  answering  of  a  fool  according  to  his  folly, 
I  replied, '  You  are  the  first  man  I  have  met,  for  some 
time,  that  did  not  know  who  his  father  was.'  The 
question  and  answer  were  heard  by  all  in  the  room. 
I  then  said  to  him,  as  to  his  companion  in  wickedness, 
'As  we  did  not  invite  you  here,  sir,  you  will  leave  the 
room.'     Soon  the  comic  was  changed  to  the  tragic  as- 


176  IN  LABORS  ABUNDANT. 


The  lawyer. 


pect,  and  he  declared,  'I  will  not  leave  the  room ;  this 
house  is  a  county  house,  and  is  free  and  open  to  us 
all ;  I  have  as  good  a  right  to  be  here  as  you  have.' 
It  so  happened  that  among  the  inquirers  was  an  aged, 
athletic  man,  a  prominent  citizen,  and  an  associate 
judge  of  the  county ;  and  I  said  to  him,  'Judge,  will 

you  see  that  Mr. leaves  the  room?'     He  rose  at 

once,  and  said  to  him, '  Mr. ,  you  will  leave  the 

room,  sir.'  There  was  no  alternative  but  to  leave,  and 
he  went  out  enraged ;  and  he  went  down  the  stairs 
swearing  that  he  would  shoot  me,  as  sure  as  he  was  a 
living  man.  The  door  was  then  closed ;  we  proceeded 
with  our  service,  and  a  more  deeply-impressed  com- 
pany of  anxious  inquirers,  asking  what  they  should 
do  to  be  saved,  I  never  saw. 

"  The  services  of  the  evening  ended.  There  was  a 
deep  excitement  upon  many  minds  as  to  what  the  en- 
raged lawyer  would  do.  Six  or  eight  men  accompa- 
nied me,  or  kept  near  me,  on  my  way  to  my  lodgings. 
They  feared  his  violence ;  but  when  I  knew  their  ob- 
ject, I  told  them  there  was  nothing  to  fear,  as  I  soon 
saw  the  man  was  only  a  braggart.  The  question  he 
asked  up  stairs,  and  the  reply  to  it,  soon  got  into  circu- 
lation. The  interview  was  all  over  town  the  next  day, 
and  every  where  the  old  man  was  hailed  as  '  the  old 
devil,'  and  the  enraged  lawyer  as  'the  young  devil.' 
There  were  some  who  affirmed  that  rarely  could  the 
epithets  be  more  appropriately  applied. 

"  That  was  the  end  of  the  lawyer  as  far  as  our  serv- 
ices were  concerned;  but  the  preacher  regularly  at- 
tended them.     He  lodged  at  the  public  house,  and  it 


IN  LABORS  ABUNDANT.  177 

Ketort.  The  change. 

was  whispered  that  he  did  not  always  drink  cold  water. 
After  a  solemn  meeting,  in  which  the  preacher  strong- 
ly presented  the  idea  that  morality,  however  spotless  in 
the  view  of  man,  could  not  save  a  sinner,  in  making 
his  way  through  the  crowd,  he  said,  '  Let  me  go  where 
morality  is  more  respected  than  here  I'  I  saw  the  hit 
would  have  its  effect  upon  some  minds,  and  in  a  low, 
but  yet  audible  tone,  said,  '  The  gentleman  wants  to 
get  to  the  tavern.'  He  got  out,  and  that  was  the  end 
of  him. 

"  The  services  subsequently  proceeded  without  any 
disturbance  of  any  kind.  The  solemnity  increased 
from  day  to  day.  The  Gospel  was  joyfully  received 
by  many  in  that  town  and  in  the  surrounding  country. 
A  Church  was  organized,  of  which  those  hopefully 
converted  at  that  protracted  meeting  were  the  main  el- 
ements. A  church  was  soon  erected.  That  ungodly 
clique  was  broken  up,  and  its  chief  members  convert- 
ed into  laughing-stocks.  Twenty-five  years  have  near- 
ly passed  away  since  that  meeting,  through  which  its 
influence  for  good  has  been  felt  on  all  the  interests  of 
society.  That  once  wicked  town  is  now  the  seat  of 
several  churches,  and  of,  at  least,  one  moral  and  edu- 
cational institution,  which  is  destined  to  shed  its  light 
on  the  surrounding  country,  and  for  ages  to  come. 

"  What  has  become  of  that  Campbellite  preacher  I 
know  not.  He  was,  beyond  doubt,  a  bad  man.  If 
yet  living,  may  the  Lord  convert  him.  The  lawyer, 
to  get  rid  of  the  sobriquet,  'the  young  devil,'  went  to 
parts  unknown,  and  thus  happily  relieved  the  commu- 
nity from  his  evil  example.  One  of  the  beloved  men 
H2 


178  IN   LABORS  ABUNDANT. 

Overdone.  New  call. 

who  preached  on  that  occasion  has  gone  up  to  his  re- 
ward, while  three  yet  survive  who  were  engaged  in 
this  conflict  with  beasts  at  Ephesus. 

"  The  malignity  of  these  men  was  overruled  for 
good.  They  overshot  the  line  of  even  allowed  oppo- 
sition there,  and  disgusted  many.  They  made  show 
of  fight,  and  attracted  multitudes  to  witness  the  affray. 
Thus  they  multiplied  the  hearers  of  the  Gospel  and 
the  trophies  of  the  Cross.  The  Lord  often  makes  the 
use  of  wicked  men  that  sportsmen  do  of  their  dogs — 
the  dogs  start  the  birds,  and  then  the  sportsmen  shoot 
them ;  so  that  beasts  at  Ephesus  have  their  place  in 
the  economy  of  redemption.  "What  they  mean  for 
evil  the  Lord  overrules  for  good." 

In  the  fall  of  1831,  the  American  Tract  Society 
made  a  new  and  strenuous  effort  to  induce  Mr.  Mur- 
ray to  embark  in  its  work,  and  now  presented  him  the 
wide  and  inviting  field  of  the 'Valley  of  the  Mississip- 
pi, a  far  more  extended  valley  than  that  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna.    The  Rev.  Dr.  Hallock  writes  to  him : 

"New  York,  November  2,  1831. 

"My  dear  Brother  Murray, — It  is  now  about' 
eighteen  months  since  Brother  Eastman  ceased  his  la- 
bors as  general  agent  for  this  Society  at  the  West, 
during  which  time,  except  a  little  done  in  Kentucky, 
we  have  had  no  agent  south  of  the  Ohio  River.  That 
whole  country  lies  comparatively  desolate  in  respect 
to  this  cause ;  for,  though  Depositories  have  been  form- 
ed in  most  of  the  larger  towns,  and  many  small  auxili- 


'  IN  LABORS  ABUNDANT.  179 

Agents  wanted.  Proposals. 

aries  around  them,  tbe  whole  arc  becoming  inactive, 
and  will  doubtless  continue  so  till  some  one  is  raised 
up,  in  Providence,  to  go  and  rouse  them  to  effort. 
North  of  the  Ohio  we  have  four  agents :  one  a  young 
preacher  in  Missouri  and  Illinois,  one  a  layman  in  In- 
diana, and  two  laymen  in  Ohio ;  they  are  men  of  a 
good  spirit,  but  there  exceedingly  needs  some  one  to 
go  in  and  aid  them  in  all  the  large  towns.  In  New 
Orleans  a  special  effort  is  imperiously  demanded  this 
winter.  We  have  looked  earnestly,  and  with  much 
prayer  to  God,  for  the  man  for  this  important  service, 
and  at  length  our  executive  committee  have  unani- 
mously fixed  on  you.  The  place  of  your  location  for 
your  family  will  be  at  your  own  election — probably 
Cincinnati.  The  committee  have  proposed  what  they 
suppose  will  provide  comfortably  for  your  family ;  but 
if  experiment  should  show  it  is  insufficient,  your  safe- 
ty will  lie  in  the  principle  by  which  the  committee  are 
governed,  that  those  who  labor  for  the  Society  must 
be  clothed  and  fed,  and  comfortably  sustained.  We 
now  lay  our  claim  before  you;  we  rejoice  that  you 
can  see  it  somewhat  in  its  extensive  bearings,  and  we 
feel  that  the  stock  of  Tract  information,  and  Tract  fire 
and  zeal  which,  in  Divine  Providence,  you  have,  is  an 
important  argument  why  you  should  enter  on  this 
service.  We  beg  you  and  Mrs.  Murray  to  ponder  the 
subject,  and  weigh  it  in  all  its  import,  and  carry  it  to 
the  Throne  of  Grace,  and  may  God,  in  great  mercy  and 
kindness  to  His  own  cause,  direct  you.  If  you  decline, 
we  know  not  what  to  do  for  securing  another  in  your 
stead.     If  there  are  any  obstacles  in  your  miml,  we 


180  IX   LABORS   ABUNDANT. 


Seeking  aid. 


should  be  glad  to  have  you  communicate  tliera,  and  to 
answer  any  inquiries  you  may  propose ;  or  to  see  you 
here,  if  you  would  visit  us  with  reference  to  the  agen- 
cy. We  believe  you  will  be  acceptable  to  all  the 
friends  of  this  cause,  and  that  you  can  do  very  much 
for  it,  by  God's  blessing,  at  the  West. 
"  Your  brother  in  Christ, 
"  William  A.  Hallock,  Cor.  Sec.  A.  T.  S." 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the 
American  Tract  Society,  New  York,  November  1st, 
1831,  it  was  unanimously 

"  Resolved^  That  Eev.  Nicholas  Murray,  of  Wilkes- 
barre,  Pa.,  be  commissioned  to  act  as  General  Agent 
of  the  Society  for  the  Yalley  of  the  Mississippi,  with 
especial  reference  to  raising  funds  and  promoting  the 
general  interests  of  the  Society  in  that  interesting  por- 
tion of  our  country,  and  that  he  receive  as  compensa- 
tion eight  hundred  dollars  and  his  traveling  expenses. 

"A  true  copy,  from  the  Minutes. 

"  William  A.  Hallock,  Cor.  Sec.  A.  T.  S. 

"New  York,  November  2, 1831." 

He  had  now  no  hesitation  in  declining  this  great 
work,  and  quietly  went  on  with  his  duties  at  home. 

The  Church  in  Wilkesbarre  greatly  needed  a  new 
house  of  worship,  and,  with  his  characteristic  energy 
and  enterprise,  Mr.  Murray  undertook  to  see  the  work 
done.  Having  exhausted  the  ability  and  disposition 
of  the  congregation,  he  went  abroad  from  place  to 
place,  wherever  he  could  get  permission  to  present 


IN   LABORS  ABUNDANT.  181 

Elizabethtown.  Dr.  M'Dowell. 

the  object,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  months  he  col- 
lected means  sufficient  to  enable  the  people  to  com- 
plete the  edifice.  An  incident  in  the  course  of  his 
visits  in  this  service  he  has  recorded,  as  producing 
an  important  influence  upon  him  through  his  future 
ministry. 

In  the  autumn  of  1832  he  went  to  Morristown,  N.  J., 
to  preach,  by  previous  appointment,  a  sermon  before 
the  Synod  of  New  Jersey,  there  in  session,  on  the  sub- 
ject of  Domestic  Missions.  The  Eev.  Dr.  M'Dowell, 
then  pastor  of  the  Church  in  Elizabethtown,  was  pres- 
ent, and  Mr.  Murray  asked  him  if  his  people  would 
listen  to  an  application  from  the  congregation  in 
Wilkesbarre  for  assistance.  Dr.  M'Dowell  replied  that 
if  he  would  come  to  Elizabethtown  and  preach  the 
same  sermon  there  that  he  had  just  preached  before 
the  Synod,  something  might  be  done.  Accordingly, 
Mr.  Murray  went  to  Elizabethtown  and  preached  on 
the  following  Sabbath.     He  writes : 

"  The  Sabbath  was  a  chilly  one  in  October;  and  in 
the  middle  of  the  sermon  I  saw  an  old  man  rise  at  the 
end  of  the  church,  with  a  large  handkerchief  thrown 
over  his  head,  and,  placing  his  stick  on  the  seat  of  the 
pew  before  him,  leaned  on  its  top  to  the  close  of  it. 
The  attention  of  the  old  man  was  obviously  fixed. 
His  movement  and  appearance  were  so  peculiar  that 
I  was  induced  to  make  inquiry  in  reference  to  him, 
when  I  learned  that  he  was  a  pensioner  of  the  Church, 
of  marked  character,  of  subtle  mind,  of  remarkable 
Christian  experience,  and  of  the  most  fervent  piety. 
When  he  felt  in  the  least  drowsy  under  the  preaching 


182  IN  LABOES  ABUNDANT. 

Father  Miller.  Donation. 

of  the  Word,  his  habit  was  to  stand  up,  so  as  to  hear 
the  Gospel  with  his  powers  all  awake  to  the  import- 
ance of  the  message. 

"  In  going  my  rounds  the  next  day  among  the  peo- 
ple to  receive  their  donations  to  aid  me  in  the  erection 
of  my  church,  I  met  this  old  man.  He  was  in  an  old 
dilapidated  gig,  drawn  by  a  horse  just  like  it,  with  his 
aged  wife  sitting  by  his  side.  They  seemed  all  well 
stricken  in  years.  He  stopped,  and  Dr.  M.,  who  was 
going  round  with  me,  introduced  me  to  Father  Miller, 
when  the  following  colloquy  took  place:  'You  are 
the  minister  that  wants  aid  to  build  a  church,  eh?' 

*  Yes,  sir ;  but  I  do  not  wish  you  to  give  any  thing.' 

*  Then  you  don't  take  any  thing  from  poor  people  like 
me,  eh?  The  Savior  did  not  prevent  the  widow  from 
giving  her  mite — all  that  she  had ;  and  are  you  kind- 
er to  the  poor  than  your  Master  ?'  I  knew  not  what 
to  reply.  *  Take  what  he  gives  you,'  said  Dr.  M.  So, 
after  searching  his  pockets,  and  whispering  to  his  wife, 
he  handed  me  two  shillings  and  sixpence,  saying,  *  I 
wish  it  was  a  hundred  dollars,  but  it  is  all  we  have ; 
God  never  permits  us  to  want ;  we  have  al ways-a  little 
for  His  cause.  We  give  you  this  with  our  prayers. 
The  whole  thing  was  said  and  done  with  a  tone,  sim- 
plicity, and  earnestness  that  very  deeply  aifected  me. 

"  Having  emptied  his  pockets,  he  then  commenced 
to  speak  to  me  from  the  fullness  of  his  heart.  '  You,' 
said  he,  *  are  the  young  man  that  preached  to  us  yes- 
terday.' '  I  am.'  '  Well,  that  was  a  kind  of  a  mis- 
sionary sermon,  and  I  liked  it  very  well.  It  is  neces- 
sary to  preach  such  sermons  occasionally;  but  they 


IN  LABORS  ABUNDANT.  183 

Preacli  Christ.  Live  Christ. 

are  not  the  Gospel.  You  are  young,  and  I  am  old ; 
you  know  a  great  deal  more  than  I  do;  but,  dear 
young  minister,  preach  Christ.  If  you  wish  to  be  use- 
ful, preach  Christ.  If  you  wish  to  be  ablessing  to  the 
Church,  preach  Christ.  You  may  never  see  this  poor 
old  man  again ;  if  not,  let  my  last  words  be  to  you, 
preach  Christ'' 

"  I  was  moved  beyond  the  power  to  reply.  After 
slapping  the  old  horse  three  or  four  times  with  the 
reins,  he  slowly  walked  away.  Upward  of  a  quarter 
of  a  century  has  passed  since  that  interview.  Father 
Miller  and  his  wife  have  long  since  gone  to  heaven, 
but  the  impressions  it  made  abide.  The  spot  where 
it  occurred — the  appearance  of  the  aged  couple — are 
indelibly  impressed  on  my  mind.  Had  I  the  pen- 
cil of  an  Angelo,  I  could  paint  them  to  the  life.  I 
subsequently  became  his  pastor.  His  entire  life,  to 
its  close,  was  in  perfect  keeping  with  that  first  inter- 
view. For  him  to  live  was  Christ.  Every  thing  to 
him  was  dross  and  dung  that  he  might  win  Christ. 
And  although  for  years  a  pensioner  of  the  Church, 
we  all  felt,  when  he  fell,  that  one  of  the  strongest  pil- 
lars of  our  Church  was  removed. 

"  '  If  you  wish  to  be  a  blessing  to  the  Church,  preach 
Christ!'  How  often  have  these  admonitory  words 
rung  in  my  ears  and  burned  on  my  heart !  To  preach 
Christ  as  Paul  preached  Him — the  world  over — to 
saint  and  to  sinner — as  the  great  remedy  for  all  the 
moral  woes  of  our  race — this  is  the  grand  duty  of  the 
ministry.  To  this  one  duty  every  thing  must  be  made 
subordinate  and  subservient  by  the  ministry.     The 


184  IlSr   LABORS  ABUNDANT. 

The  times.  Power  of  Gospel. 

ministers  who  have  preached  Christ — as  did  Payson, 
Nettleton,  Kichards,  Alexander,  Eice,  Baker — are 
those  who  were  a  blessing  to  the  Church.  And  such 
are  the  men  who  are  a  blessing  to  it  now ;  the  men 
who  permit  not  themselves  to  be  drawn  away  from 
the  Cross  to  a  crusade  against  particular  sins,  or  in  fa- 
vor of  certain  schemes  of  social  or  political  reform. 
And  the  men  who  turn  away  from  the  preaching  of 
Christ  to  preaching  for  the  times — who  are  seeking  to 
rise  to  prominence  by  connecting  themselves  with  the 
excitements  of  the  day,  are  the  men  who  are  dividing 
their  own  churches,  and  who  are  casting  around  them 
firebrands,  arrows,  and  death,  to  the  extent  of  their 
power.  Their  progress  is  marked,  like  that  of  the 
conflagration  or  freshet,  by  the  ruins  they  leave  be- 
hind them.  Without  benefiting  any  human  interest, 
they  destroy  their  own  usefulness,  and  bring  a  re- 
proach upon  the  entire  Gospel  ministry. 

"Among  ourselves  there  are  sectional  jealousies 
and  political  excitements  for  which  the  preaching  of 
Christ  is  the  best  remedy.  Abroad,  every  thing  is 
tending  in  one  direction.  The  great  drift  is  toward 
right  civil  and  religious  institutions.  India,  China, 
Japan,  Turkey,  Sardinia,  and  even  Mexico,  by  recent 
treaty,  are  open  to  the  Gospel ;  and  the  gates  of  those 
nations  yet  closed  must  be  soon  unlocked.  And  if 
every  minister  of  the  Gospel  would,  from  this  time 
forth,  preach  Christ  and  nothing  else,  in  the  spirit  and 
power  of  their  commission — if  they  would  abandon 
sectarian  strife,  and  doubtful  schemes  of  reform,  and 
devote  their  united  energies  to  the  simple  preaching 


IN  LABORS  ABUNDANT.  185 

Extension.  The  way. 

of  Christ,  within  a  very  brief  period  the  Gospel  might 
be  carried  in  triumph  from  pole  to  pole — on  the  East- 
ern Continent  from  Senegambia  to  Japan,  and  from 
Hudson's  Bay  to  Cape  Horn  on  the  Western. 

"  In  the  language,  then,  of  the  old  patriarch  to  the 
young  minister,  I  would  say  to  every  minister  of  the 
New  Testament,  '  If  you  ivish  to  he  a  blessing  to  the 
Church,  preach  GhrisV  " 

On  returning  home,  he  resumed  and  continued  his 
pastoral  labors  with  great  enjoyment  and  success. 


186  REMOVAL  TO   ELIZABETHTOWN. 


The  committee. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Called  to  Elizabethtown,  N.  J. —  Advice  of  Friends. —  Letter  from 
Rev.  John  M'Dowell,  D.D. — Letter  from  a  venerable  Elder. — He 
accepts  the  Call. —  His  Installation.  —  A  new  Era. —  Habits  of 
Study. — History  of  Elizabethtown. — Pastors  of  the  First  Church. 
— Reminiscences. 

In  the  month  of  April,  1833,  the  Eev.  Dr.  John 
M'Dowell  was  dismissed  from  the  pastoral  charge  of 
the  First  Presbyterian  Church  in  Elizabethtown,  New 
Jersey,  having  been  called  to  the  Central  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Philadelphia. 

Before  leaving  Elizabethtown,  Dr.  M'Dowell  called 
the  elders  and  trustees  of  the  Church  together  to  learn 
whether  they  would  take  any  action  in  reference  to  a 
successor.  Their  attention  was  at  once  directed  to 
the  man  who  had  visited  them  a  few  months  before 
for  the  purpose  of  getting  assistance  to  build  a  church. 
A  letter  was  written  to  Mr.  Murray  at  Wilkesbarre, 
but  he  was  at  that  time  in  Philadelphia,  atteading  the 
General  Assembly.  A  committee  of  the  elders  then 
proceeded  to  Philadelphia,  and  requested  him  to  visits 
Elizabethtown,  and  preach  as  a  candidate  in  their  va- 
cant church.  This  he  steadfastly  refused  to  do,  but 
was  finally  prevailed  on  to  supply  the  pulpit  for  two 
Sabbaths,  while  the  General  Assembly  was  in  session. 
Dr.  M'Dowell  left  Elizabethtown  May  13th,  1833,  and 
on  the  two  following  Sabbaths  Mr.  Murray  preached 
in  Elizabethtown.     The  congregation  met  June  3d, 


REMOVAL   TO   ELIZABETHTOWN.  187 

Tlic  call.  Independence. 

the  Rev.  Dr.  Magie,  pastor  of  the  Second  Church,  pre- 
siding, and  with  entire  unanimity  made  a  call  for  Mr. 
Murray,  offering  him  a  salary  of  one  thousand  dollars 
per  annum,  and  the  use  of  the  parsonage  house  and 
lands. 

This  call  opened  a  new  field  and  a  perplexing  ques- 
tion to  the  mind  of  the  pastor  in  the  Valley.  He 
sought  the  heavenly  guidance  and  the  counsel  of  his 
friends.  The  advice  he  obtained  was  almost  as  unan- 
imous as  the  call  of  the  people ;  but  he  had  formed 
new,  strong,  and  endearing  ties,  which  it  was  hard  to 
sunder,  and  it  may  be  truly  said  they  never  were  sun- 
dered, for  he  and  the  people  of  the  Yalley  cherished 
the  warmest  reciprocal  attachment  so  long  as  he  lived. 
Some  of  them  insisted  that  he  was  under  oblisrations 
to  them  to  stay.  With  that  independence  of  spirit 
that  always  marked  his  language  and  conduct,  he  re- 
plied, "  I  am  under  obligations  to  no  man." 

Dr.  M'Dowell,  feeling  naturally  deep  concern  for  the 
people  he  had  left,  wrote  to  Mr.  Murray : 

"Philadelphia,  June  15th,  1833, 

"My  dear  Brother, — I  rejoice  to  hear  that  my 
former  people  at  Elizabeth  town,  still  dearly  beloved, 
have,  at  a  full  meeting,  unanimously  made  out  a  call* 
for  you  to  become  their  pastor.  By  a  letter  which  I 
have  recently  received  from  Elizabethtown,  I  find  that 
there  is  a  deep  interest  felt  in  the  result  of  this  call, 
and  much  anxiety,  and  doubtless  much  prayer  (for  I 
know  that  they  are  a  praying  people),  that,  if  it  is  con- 
sistent with  the  Divine  will,  you  may  be  induced  to 


188  REMOVAL  TO   ELIZABETHTOWK 


accept;  and  I  unite  with,  them  in  the  hope  that  this 
may  be  the  result.  I  view  the  hand  of  God  as  re- 
markable in  this  call — that,  so  soon  after  the  depart- 
ure of  their  late  pastor,  and  when  they  were  forebod- 
ing disunion,  and  that  it  would  probably  be  a  long 
time  before  they  would  be  able  to  call  a  minister,  they 
should  so  soon,  and  so  cordially  and  harmoniously 
unite.  The  Lord,  I  sometimes  think,  has  a  great  work 
for  you  to  do  there,  and  that  he  suffered  the  events  to 
take  place  which  issued  in  my  removal,  to  open  the 
door  for  your  introduction  to  reap  the  harvest.  Noth- 
ing but  something  like  what  did  take  place  would 
probably  have  removed  me  from  that  people.  I  pray 
that  the  Lord  may  be  with  you,  and  direct  you  in  this 
solemn  business ;  and  if  it  is  for  His  glory,  and  the  in- 
terests of  Christ's  kingdom,  and  consistent  with  His 
will,  I  pray  that  you  may  decide  to  go ;  and  if  not, 
however  anxious  I  feel  on  this  subject,  I  desire  with 
submission  to  bow.  I  can  tell  you  what  my  wishes 
are,  but  I  dare  not  say  what  is  duty.  I  am  not  suf- 
ficiently acquainted  with  your  present  situation,  and 
I  feel  too  much  interested  on  one  side  to  place  great 
confidence  in  my  own  decision.  I  can  only  place  be- 
fore your  mind  the  state  of  things  at  Elizabeth  town, 
'  and  leave  you  to  contrast  them  with  your  present  sit- 
uation. The  congregation,  in  itself,  is  a  very  import- 
ant one,  containing  about  400  families  and  near  600 
communicants ;  it  has  had,  and  is  calculated  to  have, 
a  commanding  influence  on  the  surrounding  country 
throughout  the  Presbytery ;  it  has  been,  and  is  calcu- 
lated still  to  be,  an  cfiicient  congregation  in  the  benev- 


REMOVAL   TO   ELIZABETHTOWN.  189 

Leaven.  Appeals. 

olent  enterprises  of  the  day ;  and  it  has  been,  and  I 
hope  ever  may  be,  an  example  of  sound  principles  in 
doctrine,  of  moral  habits,  and  of  Church  order ;  and 
much  will  be  lost  to  the  cause  of  correct  doctrine,  and 
order,  and  of  benevolence  if  this  congregation  should 
languish  and  decline,  or  fall  into  some  hands ;  and  I 
fear  this  will  be  the  result  if  you  decline.  They  are 
an  affectionate  and  kind  people,  as  much  so  as  any 
minister  ought  to  desire.  The  little  leaven  of  new 
measures  which  gave  me  trouble  is  purged  out,  and  I 
think  is  in  such  bad  savor  that  my  successor  will  not 
be  likely  to  have  any  trouble  from  this  source.  The 
salary  they  offer  is  competent.  The  situation  is  a 
pleasant  one  in  itself,  and  is  rendered  more  so  by  its 
contiguity  to  our  great  cities.  The  house  is  a  very 
convenient  one ;  the  garden  excellent.  The  immedi- 
ate neighborhood  quiet  and  good ;  a  small,  but  good 
ministerial  library  for  its  size.  The  congregation  has 
a  share  in  the  Widows'  Fund,  which  will  yield  some- 
thing annually  to  a  widow  or  children,  in  case  the  pas- 
tor dies.  I  mention  these  things  that  you  may  have 
before  your  mind  desired  light  in  seeking  for  the  path 
of  duty. 

"Yours,  with  sincere  respect  and  affection, 

"John  M'Dowell." 

Other  brethren  in  the  ministry  wrote  to  him,  urg- 
ing him  to  go.  Private  individuals  and  elders  in  the 
Church  in  Elizabethtown  sent  importunate  appeals. 
A  venerable  elder  wrote  him  a  letter  which  could 
hardly  fail  to  make  a  favorable  impression.     It  was 


190  REMOVAL   TO    ELIZABETHTOAVN. 

Mr.  Koss.  t:rgmg. 

written  after  reading  a  letter  from  Mr.  Murray,  in 
which  he  gave  no  encouragement  that  he  would  yield 
to  the  call.  The  good  old  man  thus  pours  out  his 
heart : 

"  Elizabethtown,  June  15th,  1833. 

"  Rev.  Ai^D  DEAR  Sir, — I  have  just  returned  from 
Mr.  Meeker's,  after  perusing  your  letter.  While  I 
duly  appreciate  the  spirit  in  which  it  is  written,  I  must 
confess  it  has  cast  a  gloom  over  my  heart.  It  is  a  feel- 
ing that  I  very  seldom  indulge.  I  have  had  so  many 
instances  of  God's  goodness  to  me,  that  I  more  fre- 
quently raise  my  Ebenezer  to  God  than  indulge  de- 
spondency. And  in  no  case  through  life  did  the  prov- 
idence of  God  more  clearly  point  out  the  path  of  duty 
than  in  this.  When  I  think  of  your  first  introduction 
to  us  during  last  winter,  the  difficulties  that  took  place 
in  Philadelphia,  the  call  of  the  doctor  to  Philadelphia, 
all  of  which  were  necessary  to  open  the  door  for  you 
here ;  and  that  so  large  a  congregation  as  ours,  with- 
out any  management  or  effort  by  the  leading  mem- 
bers of  the  congregation,  should,  of  their  own  free  will 
and  accord,  give  you  a  unanimous  vote,  without  a  sin- 
gle dissenting  voice  (for  that  was  the  case  on  the  day 
of  your  election,  when  the  call  was  made  out  for  you), 
and  add  to  this  that  you  preached  for  us  the  very  next 
Sabbath  after  the  doctor  left  us,  I  must  conclude  the 
hand  of  the  Lord  is  in  these  events. 

"  My  prospects  brighten  while  I  write.  The  gloom 
disappears.  Surely  the  Lord  that  has  led  us  so  far 
prosperously  will  not  now  disappoint  us.  But  let  me, 
dear  sir,  reason  with  you  a  few  words.     You  remind 


REMOVAL   TO   ELIZABETHTOWN.  191 

Gcxxl  rcai'on.-'.  J'romisc.s. 

me  of  a  valuable  friend  I  had  who  is  now  no  more. 
He  was  frequently  in  spiritual  darkness,  when  all  his 
friends  thought  him  a  man  eminent  for  piety.  He 
would  always  look  on  the  dark  side,  and  instead  of 
rejoicing  in  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  children  of  God, 
he  was  often  bound  fast  in  the  chains  of  despair.  Per- 
mit me,  dear  sir,  to  tell  you  I  can  see  no  just  cause,  in 
the  providence  of  God,  to  cast  a  cloud  over  you ;  ev- 
ery thing  seems  to  me  to  be  suited  to  your  wants. 
Do  you  wish  to  support  your  family  decently,  and 
give  your  children  a  good  education  (which  is  the 
duty  of  every  Christian ;  for  '  he  that  provideth  not 
for  his  own,  and  especially  for  those  of  his  own  house- 
hold, hath  denied  the  faith,  and  is  worse  than  an  infi- 
del') ?  Here,  then,  the  Lord  has  provided  the  means 
for  you ;  for  the  salary  you  will  receive  in  Elizabeth- 
town  will,  with  prudence  and  economy,  supply  your 
every  want.  Do  you  wish  to  be  useful  in  converting 
souls  to  the  Redeemer,  and  in  building  up  believers 
in  faith  and  holiness?  Here  the  Lord  has  provided 
this  also  for  you.  You  will  not  here  have  to  culti- 
vate a  barren  soil ;  the  ground  is,  in  some  measure, 
prepared ;  in  every  part  of  our  congregation  we  have 
our  prayer-meetings — our  Aarons  and  Hurs — to  sus- 
tain you,  and  hold  up  your  hands ;  so  it  may  be  said. 
'  The  fields  are  already  white  unto  harvest.'  Why, 
then,  hesitate  about  taking  the  good  the  Lord  pro- 
vides for  you  ? 

"I  would  farther  remark,  sir,  that  our  people  fully 
participate  with  you  in  seeking  Divine  direction ;  for 
in  all  our  prayer-meetings  petitions  are  put  up  for  you 


192  REMOVAL   TO  ELIZABETHTOWN. 

Divine  direction.  First  love. 

and  for  ourselves,  that  we  may  be  divinely  directed, 
and  that,  if  the  Lord  should  send  you  unto  us,  '  3'ou 
might  come  in  all  the  fullness  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ.' 

"I  would  farther  respectfully  suggest,  if  you  con- 
clude not  to  accept  our  call,  that  you  would  let  us 
know  in  your  next  letter,  as  I  am  appointed  one  of 
the  commissioners.  An  old  man,  laboring  under  some 
of  the  infirmities  of  age,  would  feel  much  disappoint- 
ed if,  after  going  to  Wilkesbarre,  he  could  not  accom- 
plish his  object.  And  I  know  every  thing  depends 
on  you.  If  you  throw  the  responsibility  on  the  Pres- 
bytery, they  will  not  dismiss  you.  But  I  must  come 
to  a  close.  My  rheumatic  shoulder  dislikes  writing. 
Give  my  respects  to  your  lady ;  tell  her  the  people  of 
Elizabethtown  long  to  see  her,  and  become  acquaint- 
ed with  her,  from  the  interesting  character  Professor 
M'Clain,  of  Princeton,  gave  me  of  her. 

*'  I  shall,  every  morning  and  evening,  meet  you  at 
the  throne  of  grace,  to  seek  for  the  Lord's  direction. 
"  Respectfully  yours,  James  Eoss. 

"Rev.  Nicholas  Murray." 

He  had  made  the  decision  with  his  accustomed 
promptness,  and  in  less  than  two  months  from  the 
time  of  receiving  the  call  he  was  settled  in  Elizabeth- 
town. 

Before  leaving  the  people  of  his  first  love,  as  he  was 
accustomed  to  call  the  churches  of  Wilkesbarre  and 
Kingston,  he  preached  a  farewell  sermon,  from  which, 
as  a  fitting  close  to  his  brief  but  useful  ministry  in  the 
Valley  of  Wyoming,  we  make  a  few  extracts : 


REMOVAL  TO  ELIZABETHTOWN.  193 

Farewell.  Good  counsel. 

Extract  from  a  Sermon  preached  in  Wilkesbarre,  Pa. 

"Permit  me  to  saj  a  few  words  in  reference  to  the 
choice  of  a  future  pastor.  You  are  now  united ;  let 
no  step  be  taken  that  will  tend  to  disunite.  A  Church 
distracted  is  a  Church  declining.  A  Church  torn  by 
dissensions  is  a  Church  merely  in  name — the  vital 
principle  of  godliness  has  departed. 

"  During  my  ministry  among  you,  this  has  been  a 
frequent  topic  of  remark ;  and  now,  on  the  eve  of  my 
departure,  I  would  pray  you  to  love  one  another. 
Let  no  root  of  bitterness  spring  up ;  let  no  subject  of 
dissension  find  admission ;  let  no  hard  feelings  be  in- 
dulged ;  let  no  jealousies  be  manifested.  There  are 
those  around  who  are  looking  for  your  halting.  Dis- 
appoint their  expectations,  we  pray  you.  United  you 
stand  and  will  be  useful ;  divided  you  may  maintain 
a  weak  and  sickly  existence,  but  you  will  be  useless. 
By  your  own  comfort  and  happiness,  by  your  individ- 
ual growth  in  grace,  by  your  increase  and  prosperity 
as  a  Church,  by  all  that  is  dear  to  the  salvation  of 
souls,  I  charge  you  to  keep  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  in 
the  bonds  of  peace.  And  let  your  increasing  cry  to 
God  be  that  He  may  preserve  you  from  every  thing 
that  tends  to  slacken  or  untie  the  cord  of  Christian 
love.  And  in  your  choice  of  a  pastor,  look  at  the  suh- 
stance,  not  the  sliow  of  a  man.  Show  without  sub- 
stance, however  it  may  please  for  the  moment,  soon 
becomes  disgusting.  The  most  pleasing  manner,  with- 
out the  aid  of  strong  sense  and  sterling  piety,  soon  be- 
comes commonplace.     Substance,  on  the  other  hand, 

I 


194  REMOVAL  TO  ELIZABETHTOWN. 

steady  light.  Co-operation. 

is  the  more  valued  the  more  it  is  known.  Like  the 
precious  metal,  it  becomes  bright  by  use.  Show  soon 
cloys  the  mental  appetite,  substance  renders  it  increas- 
ingly craving.  And  as  you  need  a  holy  light  con- 
stantly in  your  candlestick,  choose  that  which  burns 
longest  in  preference  to  that  which  burns  brightest. 
The  flaming  comet  in  its  eccentric  course  soon  burns 
out,  but  the  mild  light  of  the  fixed  star  is  never  ex- 
tinguished. 

"  And  in  the  choice  of  a  pastor,  be  unanimous,  if 
possible.  Let  every  individual  act  on  broad  Christian 
principles.  And  even  this  is  possible.  When  the  ma- 
jority express  their  decided  preference,  the  minority 
should  cordially  unite  with  them  where  there  is  no  pos- 
itive, reasonable,  or  conscientious  ground  of  objection. 
It  is  the  glory  of  our  Church  that  we  have  no  hierarchy. 
We  are  governed  by  majorities.  And  unless  we  are 
willing  to  submit  to  our  brethren  in  the  Lord,  there 
is  an  end  to  all  order  in  the  community  of  the  saints. 
Thus  uniting,  your  pastor  will  be  the  pastor  of  the 
whole  Church,  and  not  of  a  party.  He  will  come 
among  you  without  hostile  feeling  on  the  part  of  any, 
and  you  will  be  all  prepared  to  receive  benefit  from 
his  ministrations.  And  when  God  sends  you  a  pas- 
tor, oh  sustain  him  by  your  prayers,  assist  him  in  his 
labors,  co-operate  with  him  in  every  good  word  and 
work!  Leave  him  not  to  labor  alone.  Like  Aaron 
and  Hur  on  the  mount  with  Moses,  sustain  his  hands, 
and  then  God  will  distill  the  dews  of  His  grace  upon 
you.  As  a  Church  and  as  a  people,  you  will  be  happ}^ 
and  blessed.  Your  great  Shepherd  will  lead  you  into 
green  pastures  and  beside  still  waters. 


REMOVAL  TO  ELIZABETHTOWN.  195 

Parting  words.  Prayer?. 

"  Thus  acting,  and  thus  living  together  as  the  heirs 
of  the  grace  of  God,  you  will  put  into  operation  an 
influence  which  eternity  alone  can  measure.  I  leave 
you  in  peace,  and  may  the  God  of  peace  abide  with 
you.  To  the  elders  I  bid  an  affectionate /arei<;e??,  pray- 
ing you  to  take  good  heed  unto  yourselves,  and  to  all 
the  flock  over  which  the  Holy  Ghost  has  made  you 
overseers.  To  the  members  of  this  Church  I  bid  an 
affectionate  farewell,  praying  and  exhorting  you  to 
grow  in  grace,  and  in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  and 
Savior  Jesus  Christ.  Unto  those  collected  into  the 
Church  under  my  ministry,  I  bid  a  special  farewell ; 
upon  you  I  look  as  the  seals  of  my  ministry — as  my 
dear  children  in  Christ.  So  live  and  so  act  as  to  be 
to  me  a  crown  of  rejoicing  in  the  day  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  To  the  unconverted  members  of  this 
congregation  I  bid  an  affectionate  farewell,  praying 
that  the  labors  of  some  future  pastor  may  be  more 
blessed  to  you  than  mine ;  praying  that  you  may  nev- 
er be  permitted  to  exchange  worlds  until  you  are 
washed  and  made  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb. 
And  now,  brethren,  I  commend  you  to  God,  and  to 
the  word  of  His  grace,  which  is  able  to  build  you  up, 
and  to  give  you  an  inheritance  among  all  them  which 
are  sanctified.  May  you  be  peaceful  and  happy,  your 
church  crowded  with  devout  worshipers;  and  may 
this  whole  congregation,  under  the  culture  of  a  faith- 
ful minister,  become  fair  and  blooming  in  the  garden 
of  the  Lord. 

"  Yery  soon  we  shall  all  take  up  our  abode  in  the 
home  which  admits  of  no  removal  until  the  morning 


196  BEMOVAL  TO  ELIZABETHTOWN, 

Inatallatlon.  Parishioners. 

of  the  resurrection ;  and  when  that  time  arrives,  may 
we  together  see  the  Lamb  in  His  glory,  and  enter  with 
Him  into  an  eternal  rest." 


The  installation  services  were  held  July  23,  1833, 
at  eleven  o'clock  A.M.  The  Eev.  Joseph  M.  Ogden, 
D.D,  of  Chatham,  preached  the  sermon,  from  2  Co- 
rinthians, iii.,  15,  16.  The  Rev.  Dr.  John  M'Dowell 
gave  the  charge  to  the  pastor,  and  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Thompson,  of  Connecticut  Farms,  gave  the  charge  to 
the  people. 

From  this  hour  we  may  date  a  new  era  in  the  life 
and  progress  of  Nicholas  Murray.  He  was  now  thir- 
ty-one years  of  age.  In  excellent  health,  with  a  ro- 
bust manly  form,  ardent  zeal,  and  exuberant  spirits, 
his  highest  ambition  already  attained  in  the  pastoral 
charge  of  a  large  and  flourishing  congregation,  he  now 
consecrated  himself  to  the  work  of  the  ministry  with 
singleness  of  devotion  and  steadiness  of  purpose.  His 
habits  of  study  and  pastoral  labor  were  formed ;  he 
had  only  to  adapt  them  to  the  circumstances  of  the 
new  field  upon  which  he  was  entering,  and- to  make 
the  previous  results  of  his  study  and  experience  avail- 
able for  increased  usefulness. 

A  few  days  or  weeks  after  his  settlement,  he  was 
met  by  one  of  the  members  of  the  congregation,  who 
said  to  him, 

"  You  may  have  heard,  Mr.  Murray,  that  I  did  not 
vote  for  you  when  the  call  was  made  ?" 

"No,"  said  Mr.  Murray,  "I  have  never  heard  of  it; 
I  understood  the  call  was  unanimous." 


BEMOVAL  TO   ELIZABETHTOWN.  197 

History. The  town.' 

"  So  it  was,"  replied  the  gentleman ;  "  I  did  not  vote 
against  it,  but  I  did  not  vote  for  it.  I  had  no  objec- 
tions personally  to  you,  but  the  truth  is,  I  do  not  like 
your  preaching." 

"  Well,"  said  the  pastor,  "  there  you  and  I  agree  ex- 
actly ;  I  don't  think  much  of  it  myself." 

The  same  conversation  has  been  repeated  of  other 
ministers  and  parishioners,  and  Mr.  Murray  alludes  to 
it  in  his  work  on  "Preachers  and  Preaching;"  but  we 
have  his  own  authority  for  saying  that  it  actually  oc- 
curred in  his  own  experience,  and  that  the  parishioner 
was  so  well  satisfied  with  the  answer  of  his  pastor, 
that  he  remained  till  death  a  warm  and  valued  friend. 

The  church  and  town  to  which  he  has  now  been  in- 
troduced have  a  rich  and  honorable  history,  and  Mr. 
Murray  himself  became  the  historian.  After  he  had 
been  settled  here  about  ten  years,  he  prepared  a  series 
of  historical  discourses,  which,  at  the  request  of  his 
people,  were  published  in  one  volume,  giving  a  minute 
account  of  the  settlement  and  progress  of  the  town. 
He  begins  the  history  with  the  taking  of  Constantino- 
ple by  the  Turks  in  1453 !  mentions  the  art  of  print- 
ing in  1455,  the  discovery  of  America  in  1492,  and 
the  Eeformation  in  1517.  It  is  not  important  for  us 
to  consider  the  relation  of  these  great  events  to  the 
settlement  of  Elizabethtown,  but  we  may  go  back  to 
"the  month  of  August,  1665,  when  the  ship  Philip 
dropped  its  anchor  at  Elizabethtown  Point.  It  con- 
veyed from  England  to  the  shores  of  New  Jersey 
Philip  Carteret,  the  first  governor  of  the  province, 
and  about  thirty  emigrants.     These  debarked,  and,  to- 


198  BEMOVAL  TO   ELIZABETHTOWX. 

Settlers.  Church  Record?. 

gether  -with  the  dwellers  in  some  log  huts,  which  had 
been  previously  erected,  formed  the  first  settlers  of 
Elizabethtown.  The  persons  residing  in  the  log  huts 
were  from  the  east  end  of  Long  Island,  induced  to  re- 
move here  by  John  Ogden  and  his  associates.  The 
persons  who  settled  Long  Island  were  generally  Puri- 
tans from  England  and  New  England;  and  as  John 
Ogden  was  a  pious  Puritan,  we  may  infer  that  the  first 
white  inhabitants  of  Elizabethtown  were  pious  per- 
sons, and  of  the  old  Puritan  stamp. 

"  As  in  those  days  the  emigrants  from  England  to 
the  Northern  States  were  generally  persons  whose  re- 
ligious principles  subjected  them  to  persecution,  we 
may  infer  that  the  settlers  brought  here  by  Carteret 
were  mainly  of  Puritan  faith.  And  this  inference  is 
greatly  strengthened  by  the  fact  that  we  find  them 
heartily  agreeing  with  the  people  of  Newark,  who  were 
decided  Puritans,  *  to  be  of  one  heart  and  consent,  with 
God's  blessing,  in  endeavoring  to  carry  on  their  relig- 
ious concernment;'  and  that  until  170-1,  when  the  Epis- 
copal Church  was  organized,  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  was  the  only  one  in  the  town. 

"  As  the  Church  Records  were  lost  during  the  war 
of  the  Revolution,  and  the  Records  subsequent  to 
that,  to  the  year  1800,  during  the  partial  insanity  of 
the  Rev.  David  Austin,  we  have  no  Session  minutes 
previous  to  the  settlement  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Kollock. 
We  know  not  when  the  Church  was  first  organized. 
Because  of  the  character  of  the  first  settlers  and  of 
the  leading  associates,  we  conclude  that  the  Church 
was  formed  immediately  after  the  settlement  of  the 


REMOVAL  TO   ELIZABETHTOWX.  199 


OlJe^t  Church. ^Pj^j  ^^jg^^ 

town.  Hence  this  claims  to  be  the  oldest  congrega- 
tion in  the  state  worshiping  God  in  the  English  lan- 
guage. Nor  has  it  any  competitor  for  this  honor  save 
its  venerable  sister  Church  of  Newark,  which  dates  its 
existence  from  October,  1667. 

"  Nor  is  it  known  whether  the  people  first  organ- 
ized as  a  Presbyterian  or  as  an  Independent  Church. 
The  churches  of  Newark  and  Woodbridge  were  Pres- 
byterian. There  was  very  early  a  large  emigration 
here  from  Scotland.  There  is  neither  record  nor  tra- 
dition that  it  ever  changed  its  polity,  or  that  it  was 
ever  any  thing  else  than  Presbyterian.  It  is  very  like- 
ly that  for  some  years  its  government  assumed  no  par- 
ticular form,  but  that  when  it  did,  it  took  a  Presbyte- 
rian form,  which  it  has  ever  since  maintained.  The 
influence  of  the  Church  on  the  community  was  very 
early  apparent,  as  Rudyard,in  1683,  describes  the  peo- 
ple as  '  generally  a  sober,  professing  people,  wise  in 
their  generation,  and  courteous  in  their  behavior.' 

"  Nor  is  it  known  when  the  first  church  edifice  was 
erected.  It  stood  where  its  more  imposing  successor 
now  stands.  It  was  a  building  of  wood,  with  galler- 
ies ;  and  when  first  erected  was  small.  It  had  a  high 
steeple,  with  a  town  clock  in  it ;  and  it  was  probably 
in  it  that  the  Legislatures  under  the  Proprietors,  and 
the  Supreme  Court  held  their  sessions.  It  was  en- 
larged and  beautified  on  several  occasions.  Fired  by 
the  torch  of  a  refugee,  it  was  burned  to  ashes  on  the 
25th  of  January,  1780. 

"  The  foundations  of  the  present  church  were  laid 
in  1784.     While  yet  incomplete,  it  was  dedicated  to 


200  EEMOVAL   TO   ELIZABETHTOWN. 

Firat  minister.  Successor?. 

the  public  worsbip  of  God  by  the  Eev.  Dr.  M'Wbor- 
ter,  of  Newark,  in  January,  1786.  Its  fine  steeple  was 
erected  during  tbe  ministry  of  Mr.  Austin.  It  was  re- 
seated and  greatly  repaired  in  1842 ;  and  in  the  year 
1851  it  was  enlarged  and  placed  in  its  present  state 
of  beauty  and  taste,  at  an  expense  of  about  ten  thou- 
sand dollars. 

"The  first  minister  of  the  Church  of  which  we  have 
any  record  was  the  Rev.  Seth  Fletcher.  He  died  in 
1682.  It  is  very  probable  that  from  the  founding  of 
the  Church  to  the  settlement  of  Mr.  Harriman,  there 
was  no  settled  pastor,  the  people  depending,  as  do 
many  new  congregations  now,  upon  occasional  sup- 
plies. 

"The  Rev.  John  Harriman  became  pastor  in  1682, 
and  died  in  1704." 

The  Eev.  Mr.  Melyne  was  settled  here  in  1704. 
Whence  he  came  we  are  not  able  to  say,  but  there  is 
a  tradition  in  respect  to  his  departure  to  this  effect: 
Being  strongly  suspected  of  intemperance,  he  took  of- 
fense at  a  piece  of  music  sung  as  a  voluntary  by  the 
choir  on  a  Sabbath  morning.  Descending  from  the 
pulpit  in  the  midst  of  the  singing,  and  taking  his  wife, 
he  walked  out  of  the  church,  and  never  entered  it 
again.  In  his  time  the  whole  town  contained  only 
about  three  hundred  families. 

"  The  next  pastor  was  the  Rev.  Jonathan  Dickin- 
son, the  impress  of  whose  character  is  yet  visible  on 
the  town,  and,  indeed,  on  the  whole  of  the  eastern 
section  of  New  Jersey.  This  great  and  good  man 
was  born  in  Hatfield,  Mass.,  April  22d,  1688,  and  was 


REMOVAL   TO  ELIZABETHTOWN.  201 

Dr.  Dickinson.  Character. 

graduated  in  Yale  College  in  1706.  He  was  settled 
here  two  or  three  years  afterward,  and  when  he  was 
about  twenty-one  years  of  age.  Of  this  congregation 
and  town  he  was  for  nearly  forty  years  the  joy  and 
the  glory.  '  He  had  a  mind  formed  for  inquiry ;  and 
to  a  keen  penetration  he  united  a  disinterested  attach- 
ment to  truth.  With  a  natural  turn  for  controversy, 
he  had  a  happy  government  of  his  passions,  and  ab- 
horred the  perverse  disputings  so  common  to  men  of 
corrupt  minds.  The  eagerness  of  contention  did  not 
extinguish  in  him  the  fervors  of  devotion  and  brother- 
ly love.'  He  advocated  with  great  zeal  the  doctrines 
of  grace,  and  adorned  them  by  a  holy  life  devoted  to 
doing  good.  He  was  valiant  for  the  truth.  Unlike 
many  at  the  present  day,  he  never  consulted  his  own 
ease  or  popularity  at  the  expense  of  God's  truth,  nor 
stood  neutral  to  see  which  side  would  prevail,  and 
then  throw  himself  on  the  popular  current.  Armed 
with  the  weapons  of  truth  and  love,  he  boldly  resisted 
every  attack  on  the  truth  and  order  of  God's  house, 
and  manfully  defended  from  the  assaults  of  error  all 
the  great  fundamental  doctrines  of  our  most  holy  re- 
ligion. And  his  published  works  praise  him  in  all 
the  gates  of  Zion,  and  will  transmit  his  name  to  all  fu- 
ture generations.  The  most  complete  list  of  his  pub- 
lished writings  that  we  have  seen  is  contained  in  Dr. 
Green's  very  valuable  history  of  the  College  of  New 
Jersey. 

"During  his  ministry  this  congregation  prospered 
greatly.  It  shared  largely  in  the  glorious  revival  with 
which  God  favored  the  country  during  the  ministry 

I  2 


202  REMOVAL  TO   ELIZABETHTOWN. 

Brainerd.  Old  parish. 

of  Whitefield,  Edwards,  Brainerd,  and  the  Tennents, 
who  were  all  his  contemporaries ;  and  in  1740  there 
was  a  large  addition  made  to  the  communicants  of  the 
Church.  It  is  a  pleasant  fact  in  our  history  that  here 
the  beloved  Brainerd  delighted  to  visit,  and  to  com- 
mune with  his  brother  Jonathan.  During  the  second 
visit  of  Whitefield  to  this  country  in  1740  he  visited 
this  place ;  and  at  the  very  short  notice  of  about  two 
or  three  hours,  preached  at  twelve  o'clock  to  an  audi- 
ence of  seven  hundred  people.  At  the  close  of  the 
service  he  took  up  a  collection,  probably  for  the  Or- 
phan Asylum,  the  largest  in  the  list  of  collections  for 
the  year.  From  this  fact  we  infer  the  great  popular- 
ity of  the  preacher,  that  the  town  must  have  been  con- 
siderably populous,  and  that  it  must  have  been  a  time 
of  more  than  ordinary  attention  to  the  subject  of  re- 
ligion. 

"  This  parish  is  now  a  large  and  laborious  one ;  but 
in  the  days  of  Mr.  Dickinson  its  boundaries  were  much 
more  extensive  than  now.  It  then  included  all  of 
Eahway,  Westfleld,  Connecticut  Farms,  and  Spring- 
field, and  even  a  part  of  Chatham.  Then  the  people 
of  Westfield  would  walk  here  to  worship  God ;  but 
those  from  Chatham  were  oftentimes  in  the  habit  of 
riding.  Nor  in  those  primeval  days  were  the  people 
much  deterred  by  bad  roads  or  bad  weather.  The 
Gospel  was  precious  to  them,  and  they  could  encoun- 
ter difficulties  to  hear  it. 

"Between  the  Elizabethtown  Associates  and  the 
New  Jersey  Proprietors,  the  different  parishes  were 
not  forgotten.     The  former  set  apart  a  town  lot  of  the 


REMOVAL   TO   ELIZABETHTOWN-.  203 


The  grant. 


largest  size  for  the  minister,  and  the  latter  appropri- 
ated two  hundred  acres  for  each  parish.  It  is  more 
than  probable  that  the  lot  given  by  the  Associates  lay- 
in  that  part  of  the  town  through  which  Race  Street 
now  runs,  as  Mr.  Dickinson  resided  in  a  house  which 
stood  a  few  yards  north  of  the  present  residence  of 
Capt.  Charles  L.  Williamson.  But  what  became  of 
the  grant  of  the  Proprietors,  or  whether  it  ever  came 
into  the  possession  of  this  congregation,  there  is  no 
means  of  ascertaining.  There  is  a  tradition  that  Mr. 
Dickinson,  on  his  decease,  gave  to  the  Church  several 
acres  of  land,  to  be  added  to  the  original  town  lot. 
The  great  cheapness  of  all  the  necessaries  of  life,  to- 
gether with  the  use  of  that  lot  and  the  parsonage,  and 
their  devoting  a  part  of  their  time  to  other  pursuits 
than  those  directly  ministerial,  account  for  the  small 
salaries  given  to  the  different  pastors.  Mr.  Kettletas 
was  paid  but  two  pounds  ten  shillings  per  Sabbath. 
Mr.  Caldwell  was  paid  three  pounds  one  shilling  and 
sixpence  per  Sabbath.  In  1776  his  salary  was  raised 
to  one  hundred  and  eighty  pounds,  and  he  was  paid 
by  the  week,  and  punctually  every  Monday  morning. 
Mr.  Linn  was  settled  on  a  salary  of  three  hundred 
pounds  York  currency,  with  the  parsonage  house  and 
lands.  But  then  all  other  things  were  in  proportion. 
The  governor's  salary  in  East  Jersey  was  one  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds,  in  West  Jersey  two  hundred  pounds ; 
and  at  one  time  they  were  paid  that  in  peas,  and  corn, 
and  tobacco,  at  fixed  prices.  Beef  and  venison  were 
a  penny  a  pound,  corn  was  two  shillings  and  sixpence 
per  bushel,  barley  two  shillings,  and  all  other  things 


204  KEMOVAL   TO   ELIZABETHTOWN. 

Church  controversy.  Charter. 

in  proportion.  Making  due  allowance  for  the  changes 
that  have  taken  place,  there  is  no  doubt  that  pastors 
were  much  better  paid  then  than  now. 

"  A  controversy  which  had  existed  for  some  time 
in  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia,  then  representing  the 
whole  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  Provinces,  resulted 
in  dividing  that  Synod  into  two  parts  in  1741 — the 
Synods  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia.  From  the 
time  of  their  separation  each  made  strong  exertions 
to  educate  youth  for  the  ministry,  with  the  mingled 
purpose  of  elevating  the  standard  of  ministerial  edu- 
cation and  of  strengthening  their  party.  New  Jersey 
went  nearly  unanimously  with  the  Synod  of  New 
York ;  and  as  the  Presbyterian  Church  was  much 
stronger  here  than  in  New  York,  it  was  determined, 
if  possible,  to  establish  a  college,  and  to  locate  it  in 
New  Jersey.  Dickinson  was  the  leader  of  his  party 
in  the  old  Synod  of  Philadelphia,  and  after  the  sep- 
aration was  by  far  the  most  able  man  in  the  Synod  of 
New  York.  He  it  was,  no  doubt,  that  gave  being  and 
shape  to  the  deliberations  that  resulted  in  the  creation 
of  the  College  of  New  Jersey.  He  had  been  for  sev- 
eral years  a  very  popular  teacher  of  young  men ;  and 
when  the  institution  was  resolved  upon,  every  eye  rest- 
ed upon  him  as  best  qualified  to  lay  its  foundations 
and  to  superintend  its  concerns.  A  charter  for  a  col- 
lege was  sought,  and  granted  by  John  Hamilton,  who 
acted  as  governor  (being  the  oldest  member  of  the 
Council)  between  the  death  of  Governor  Morris,  in 
May,  1746,  and  the  induction  of  Governor  Belcher 
into  the  chair  of  state  in  1747.     The  college  thus 


REMOVAL   TO   ELIZABETHTOWN, 


/ounded  was  commenced  in  this  town,  and  Mr  Dick- 
inson was  chosen  its  first  president.     It  is  now  in  a 
flourishing  state,  with  an  able  and  extended  faculty 
numerous  buildings  and  students;  but  then,  with  the 
exception  of  an  usher,  the  president  was  the  only  teach- 
er.    The  number  of  students  was  about  twenty,  who 
boarded  with  the  president  and  other  families  in  the 
town.     The  Academy,  which  stood  where  the  Lec- 
ture-room now  stands,  and  which  was  burned  down 
during  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  contained  the  first 
recitation-room  of  the  first  classes  ever  attached  to  New 
Jersey  College.     Although  brought  into  existence  by 
the  influence  of  Dickinson,  he  was  spared  to  act  as  ite 
president  but  one  year,  as  he  died  October  7th,  1747 
Ihe  students  were  then  removed  to  Newark,  and 
placed  under  the  government  of  the  Rev.  Aaron  Burr 
who  was  the  second  president  of  the  college.   In  1757* 
when  about  seventy  in  number,  they  were  removed 
to  Princeton,  where  the  first  college  edifice  was  erect- 
ed, and  which,  in  honor  of  William  III.  of  England, 
Prince  of  Orange  and  Nassau,  the  asserter  of  Protest^ 
ant  liberty,  was  called  Nassau  Hall. 

"  The  great  and  good  Dickinson  died  in  the  sixtieth 
year  of  his  age,  although  not  full  of  years,  yet  full  of 
honors  His  must  have  been  a  life  of  great  activity 
and  industry  when  it  is  remembered  that  in  addition 
to  his  duties  as  a  pastor,  and  teacher,  and  farmer,  and 
the  studies  imposed  by  his  numerous  and  ardent  con- 
troversies, he  was  a  practicing  physician,  and  obtained 
a  considerable  medical  reputation.  So  devoted  was  he 
as  a  minister,  so  untiring  were  his  efibrts  to  do  good 


206  REMOVAL  TO   ELIZABETHTOWN. 

Daughters.  Dr.  Spencer. 

SO  discriminating  and  powerful  was  be  as  a  preacher,, 
so  dignified  and  bland  were  his  manners,  so  ardent  was 
his  attachment  to  the  truth,  and  so  firm  and  cogent 
was  he  in  its  advocacy,  that  his  memory  is  yet  ines- 
timably precious.  It  must  have  been  a  sad  day  in 
Elizabethtown  when  Mr.  Dickinson,  and  Mr.  Vaughan, 
the  rector  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  who  are  said  to 
have  come  to  this  place  on  the  same  day,  and  after  la- 
boring here  forty  years  together,  were  both  corpses  on 
the  same  day,  the  former  having  died  but  a  few  hours 
before  the  latter. 

"  Mr.  Dickinson  left  behind  him  three  daughters : 
one  of  them  married  a  Mr.  Sargeant,  of  Princeton,  of 
whom  the  lion.  John  Sargeant,  of  Philadelphia,  is  a 
descendant.  Another  married  the  Rev.  Caleb  Smith, 
pastor  of  the  Church  in  Newark  Mountains,  now  called 
Orange,  of  whom  the  family  of  Greens  of  Lawrence- 
ville  are  descendants,  one  of  whom,  H.  W.  Green,  of 
Trenton,  is  one  of  the  ornaments  of  the  New  Jersey 
bar.  And  the  other  became  the  wife  of  a  Mr.  John 
Cooper.  The  remains  of  this  venerated  man  sleep  in 
our  grave-yard,  and  hallowed  be  the  spot  of  their  re- 
pose until  they  awake  to  newness  of  life." 

The  successor  of  Mr.  Dickinson  was  the  Rev.  Elihu 
Spencer,  D.D.,  who  was  installed  Feb.  7,  1750.  He 
continued  a  faithful  and  useful  pastor  until  1756,  when 
he  removed  to  Trenton,  N.  J.,  and  became  pastor  there. 
He  died  in  Trenton  Dec.  27th,  1784,  in  the  64th  year 
of  his  age.  On  his  tomb  it  is  written,  "Possessed  of 
fine  genius,  of  great  vivacity,  of  eminent  and  active 
piety,  his  merits  as  a  minister  and  a  man  stand  above 


KEMOVAL  TO   ELIZABETHTOWN.  207 

Mr.  Kettletas.  Mr.  Caldwell. 

the  reach  of  flattery.  Having  long  edified  the  Church 
by  his  talents  and  example,  and  finished  his  course 
with  joy,  he  fell  asleep,  full  of  faith,  and  waiting  for 
the  hope  of  all  saints." 

Dr.  Spencer  was  succeeded  by  the  Eev.  Abraham 
Kettletas,  installed  Sept.  14,  1757.  He  was  here  but 
two  or  three  years.  He  went  to  Long  Island  and  set- 
tled at  Jamaica,  where  he  died  September  30,  1798, 
aged  65  years.  He  was  an  able  man  and  a  warm  pa- 
triot, and  his  writings  were  influential  in  the  war  of 
the  Revolution. 

"  The  Rev.  James  Caldwell,  of  Revolutionary  and 
patriotic  memory,  whose  tragical  end  gives  to  his  his- 
tory all  the  interest  of  romance,  was  the  successor  of 
Mr.  Kettletas.  Between  the  removal  of  the  one  and 
the  settlement  of  the  other,  the  pulpit  was  supplied 
by  many  individuals,  no  doubt,  as  candidates  for  set- 
tlement. As  they  were  in  the  habit  of  paying  the 
preacher  every  Monday  morning,  the  Treasurer's  ac- 
count is  the  only  testimony  we  have  as  to  who  they 
were.  Mr.  Kilpatrick,  Mr.  Treet,  Mr.  Carmichael,  Mr. 
Horton,  who  afterward  settled  at  Bottle  Hill,  Mr.  El- 
more, Mr.  "Woodruff,  Mr.  Parkhurst,  Mr.  Green,  after- 
ward or  at  that  time  settled  in  Hanover,  and  the  fa- 
ther of  the  venerable  Dr.  Green,  Mr.  More,  Mr.  Pier- 
son,  Mr.  M'Whorter,  Mr.  Halsey,  and  a  Mr.  Jones,  are 
among  the  number.  But  Mr.  Caldwell  was  selected 
from  them  all,  and  was  installed  in  December,  1761, 
although  he  preached  here  several  Sabbaths  between 
August,  1760,  and  the  date  of  his  settlement. 

"  "We  learn  from  some  of  the  descendants  of  this 


208  REMOVAL   TO   ELIZABETHTOWN. 

His  wife.  Revolution. 

distinguished  man,  of  whom  there  are  many,  that  his 
family  was  of  French  origin.  Driven  from  their  coun- 
try by  the  fierce  persecution  against  the  Huguenots, 
they  went  over  to  Scotland.  In  the  reign  of  James 
I.,  a  branch  of  the  family  went  over  to  Ireland  and 
settled  in  the  county  of  Antrim.  From  this  branch 
John  Caldwell  was  descended,  who  emigrated  to  this 
country,  bringing  with  him,  besides  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren, four  single  sisters.  He  first  settled  in  Lancaster 
County,  Pa.,  but  soon  removed  to  a  settlement  called 
Cub  Creek,  in  what  is  now  called  Charlotte  County, 
Virginia.  There  James  was  born,  April,  1784,  the 
youngest  of  seven  children.  He  was  sent  to  Prince- 
ton College,  where  he  graduated  in  1759.  In  about 
a  year  afterward  he  was  licensed  to  preach  the  Gos- 
pel ;  and  while  the  dew  of  his  youth  was  yet  upon 
him,  he  entered  upon  the  charge  of  this  then  large 
congregation.  Soon  after  his  settlement  he  was  mar- 
ried, March  14, 1763,  to  Miss  Hannah  Ogden,  of  New- 
ark, who  was  in  every  respect  a  help  meet  for  him, 
and  whose  cheerful  piety  and  unshaken  fortitude  sus- 
tained and  comforted  him  amid  the  dark  and  trying 
scenes  through  which  he  was  called  to  pass. 

"  Shortly  after  the  settlement  of  Mr.  Caldwell  here, 
those  differences  between  the  colonies  and  Great  Brit- 
ain commenced  which  resulted  in  the  war  of  the  Ecv- 
olution,  and  subsequently  in  the  independence  of  the 
United  States.  Descended  from  the  Huguenots,  he 
early  learned  the  story  of  their  wrongs,  and  may  be 
said  to  have  inherited  a  feeling  of  opposition  to  tyr- 
anny and  tyrants.    Possessing  warm  feelings,  and  fine 


KEMOVAL  TO   ELIZABETHTOWN.  209 


Chaplain. 


genius,  and  great  muscular  energy,  he  entered  with  all 
his  heart  into  the  controversy.  He  acted  as  the  chap- 
lain of  those  portions  of  the  American  army  that  suc- 
cessively occupied  New  Jersey,  accompanied  the  Jer- 
sey Brigade  to  the  northern  lines,  and  is  said  to  have 
held  the  station  of  commissary  for  some  time.  He 
was  high  in  the  confidence  of  Washington,  with  whom 
he  was  on  the  most  intimate  terms  of  friendship ;  and 
in  times  of  gloom  and  despondency,  by  his  eloquent 
and  patriotic  appeals,  contributed  much  to  excite  and 
sustain  the  drooping  spirits  of  officers  and  soldiers. 
And  perhaps  no  one  man  in  this  part  of  the  State  of 
New  Jersey  contributed  so  much  to  give  direction  and 
energy  to  the  movements  of  our  citizens.  His  popu- 
larity with  the  soldiers  and  people  was  unbounded, 
and  his  practical  wisdom  was  held  in  the  highest  esti- 
mation. 

"  But  the  very  things  that  made  him  popular  with 
the  friends  of  his  country,  made  him  equally  unpopu- 
lar with  its  enemies.  To  avoid  the  danger  to  which 
he  was  constantly  exposed  from  the  Tories,  and  the 
enemy  then  in  the  possession  of  Statcn  Island  and 
New  York,  he  was  compelled  to  remove  his  residence 
from  this  place  to  Connecticut  Farms,  where  he  re- 
sided until  the  day  of  his  murder. 

"He  was  sustained  in  his  political  action  by  his 
congregation  with  scarcely  a  single  exception.  The 
church  in  which  he  preached  was  cheerfully  yielded 
as  a  hospital  for  sick,  and  disabled,  and  wounded  sol- 
diers, as  some  of  the  aged  ones  yet  among  us  testify. 
It  was  its  bell  that  sounded  throug^h  the  town  the 


210  REMOVAL  TO   ELIZABETHTOWN. 

church  burnt.  Murder. 

notes  of  alarm  on  the  approach  of  the  foe ;  its  floor 
was  not  unfrequently  the  bed  of  the  weary  soldier, 
and  the  seats  of  its  pews  the  table  from  which  he  ate 
his  scanty  meal.  Its  worshipers  on  the  Sabbath  were 
not  unfrequently  compelled  to  stand  through  the  ser- 
vice because  of  the  greasiness  of  their  seats,  and  the 
fragments  of  bread  and  meat  by  which  they  were  cov- 
ered. In  vengeance  on  the  pastor  and  the  people,  this 
church  was  fired  on  the  25th  of  January,  1780,  by  a 
refugee  called  Cornelius  Hetfield,  On  the  25th  of 
the  following  June,  while  General  Knyphausen  was 
on  his  way  to  Springfield,  Mrs.  Caldwell  was  shot  at 
Connecticut  Farms  by  a  refugee,  through  the  window 
of  a  room  to  which  she  had  retired  with  her  children 
for  safety  and  prayer ;  two  balls  passing  through  her 
body.  Her  lifeless  corpse  was  drawn  from  the  build- 
ing and  laid  in  the  open  street,  when  it  was  fired;  and 
soon  all  the  surrounding  buildings  were  in  ashes. 
And  on  the  24th  of  November,  1781,  Mr.  Caldwell 
himself  was  shot  at  Elizabethtown  Point,  whither  he 
had  gone  for  a  young  lady  who  had  come  under  the 
protection  of  a  flag  of  truce  from  New  York.  The 
ball  pierced  his  heart,  and  he  expired  in  a  moment. 
His  corpse  was  laid  in  the  body  of  a  wagon  covered 
with  straw,  and  was  carried  to  the  house  of  Mrs.  Noel, 
his  unwavering  friend,  whence  it  was  buried.  Dr. 
M'Whortcr,  of  Newark,  preached  his  funeral  sermon 
from  Ecclesiastes,  eighth  chapter  and  eighth  verse. 
The  remains  of  himself  and  wife  lie  together  in  our 
grave-yard.  He  died  in  the  iOtli  year  of  his  age, 
leaving  a  name  as  dear  to  the  state  as  it  is  to  the 


REMOVAL   TO   ELIZABETHTOWN.  211 

Funeral.  Ur.  Uoudinot. 

Church  of  Jesus  Christ.  Thus,  in  less  than  two  years, 
this  congregation  was  bereft  of  its  church,  and  next 
of  the  inestimable  wife  of  their  pastor,  and  next  of 
that  pastor  himself.  And  as  a  proof  of  the  estimate 
in  which  he  was  held,  his  name  was  given  to  one  of 
the  townships  of  this  county. 

"  The  funeral  of  Mr.  Caldwell  was  one  of  the  most 
solemn  scenes  that  this  town  has  ever  witnessed.  He 
was  shot  on  Saturday  afternoon,  and  many  of  the  peo- 
ple were  ignorant  of  the  tragical  deed  until  they  came 
to  church  on  the  Sabbath ;  and  instead  of  sitting  with 
delight  under  his  instructions,  there  was  a  loud  cry  of 
wailing  over  his  melancholy  end.  There  was  a  vast 
concourse  assembled  to  convey  him  to  his  tomb  on 
the  following  Tuesday.  After  the  religious  services 
were  ended,  the  corpse  was  placed  on  the  large  stone 
before  the  door  of  the  house  of  Mrs.  Noel,  now  the 
residence  of  Miss  Spalding,  where  all  could  take  a  last 
view  of  the  remains  of  their  murdered  pastor.  After 
all  had  taken  their  last  look,  and  before  the  coffin  was 
closed.  Dr.  Boudinot  came  forward,  leading  nine  or- 
phan children,  and  placing  them  around  the  bier  of 
their  parent,  made  an  address  of  surpassing  pathos  to 
the  multitude  in  their  behalf.  It  was  an  hour  of 
deep  and  powerful  emotion ;  and  the  procession  slow- 
ly moved  to  the  grave,  weeping  as  they  went.  And 
as  they  lifted  their  streaming  eyes  to  heaven,  they  be- 
sought the  blessing  of  God  upon  the  orphan  group ; 
and  Ilis  kind  interposition  to  crown  their  efibrts 
against  their  oppressors  with  success. 

"So  vivid  are  the  recollections  of  many  yet  among 


212  REMOVAL  TO  ELIZABETHTOTVN. 

Appearance.  Murderer. 

US  of  this  devoted  patriot  and  pastor,  that  we  can  de- 
scribe him  almost  to  the  life.  He  was  of  middling 
size,  and  strongly  framed.  His  countenance  had  a 
pensive,  placid  cast;  but  when  excited,  was  exceed- 
ingly expressive  of  resolution  and  energy.  His  voice 
was  sweet  and  pleasant,  but,  at  the  same  time,  so 
strong  that  he  could  make  himself  heard  above  the 
notes  of  the  drum  and  fife.  As  a  preacher  he  was 
uncommonly  eloquent  and  pathetic,  rarely  preaching 
without  weeping  himself,  and  at  times  would  melt  his 
whole  audience  into  tears.  He  was  one  of  the  most 
active  of  men,  and  seemed  never  wearied  by  any 
amount  of  bodily  or  mental  labor.  Feelings  of  the 
most  fervent  piety  and  of  the  most  glowing  patriotism 
possessed  his  bosom  at  the  same  time,  without  the  one 
interfering  with  the  other.  He  was  one  day  preach- 
ing to  the  battalion,  the  next  marching  with  them  to 
battle,  and  if  defeated,  assisting  to  conduct  their  re- 
treat, and  the  next  administering  the  consolations  of 
the  Gospel  to  some  dying  parishioner.  His  people 
were  most  ardently  attached  to  him,  and  the  army 
adored  him.  His  shed  blood  is  mingled  with  our  soil, 
and  his  ashes  repose  in  our  cemetery.  Let  his  name 
be  had  in  everlasting  remembrance. 

"  He  was  shot  by  a  man  called  Morgan,  who  was 
tried  and  found  guilty  of  murder.  It  is  said  that  it  was 
proved  on  his  trial  that  he  was  bribed  by  British  gold 
to  commit  the  murderous  deed.  He  was  hung,  giving 
signs  of  the  most  obdurate  villainy.  The  day  of  his 
execution  was  intensely  cold,  and  his  last  words  were, 
addressing  with  an  oath  the  executioner,  'Do  your 


REMOVAL  TO   ELIZABETHTOWN.  213 


^•'^^''""on. ^^    Dr.  Linn. 

duty,  and  don't  keep  me  here  suffering  in  the  cold.' 
The  place  of  his  execution  is  about  half  a  mile  north 
of  the  Westfield  church,  and  is  called  Morgan's  Hill 
to  this  day, 

"Mr.  Caldwell  left  behind  him  nine  orphan  chil- 
dren, with  but  very  little  provision  to  sustain  or  edu- 
cate them.  The  Lord  raised  np  friends  to  protect 
them,  and  they  all  lived  not  only  to  become  members 
of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ,  but  to  occupy  places  of 
distinguished  usefulness." 

Mr.  Caldwell  was  succeeded  in  the  ministry  by  the 
Eev.  William  Linn,  D.D,  June  U,  1786.  He  remain- 
ed but  a  few  months,  and  was  dismissed  to  become  a 
pastor  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church,  in  the  city  of 
New  York. 

"  The  successor  of  Dr.  Linn  was  the  Rev.  David 
Austin,  whose  name  and  fame  will  be  long  remember- 
ed in  this  part  of  the  country.  He  was  born  in  New 
Haven  in  the  year  1760.  His  father  was  one  of  the 
earliest  settlers  of  that  place,  and  was  a  man  of  great 
respectability,  of  piety,  and  wealth.  He  was  for  many 
years  collector  of  the  customs,  and  afterward  a  suc- 
cessful merchant.  David  was  the  eldest  of  a  numer- 
ous family,  all  the  members  of  which  who  lived  to  ma- 
turity became  truly  pious.  He  was  early  fitted  for 
college,  and  graduated  at  Yale  in  1779.  After  gradu- 
ating, he  pursued  his  theological  studies  with  Dr.  Bel- 
lamy, of  Bethlehem,  in  his  native  state,  and,  according 
to  the  custom  of  that  day,  was  soon  licensed  to  preach 
the  Gospel.  He  preached  with  great  acceptance,  and 
in  several  places  was  strongly  solicited  to  settle  as  a 


214  KEMOVAL   TO   ELIZABETHTOWN. 

Marri;ige.  Derangement. 

pastor.  Having  determined  to  visit  Europe  before 
taking  a  pastoral  charge,  he  declined  all  these  pro- 
posals, some  of  which  were  highly  flattering  and  ad- 
vantageous. He  spent  some  time  in  foreign  travel, 
and  returned  with  an  ardent  desire  for  the  work  of 
the  ministry.  He  married  Miss  Lydia  Lathrop,  of 
Norwich,  whose  father  was  a  wealthy  and  highly  re- 
spected citizen  of  that  town,  and  shortly  afterward, 
September  9th,  1788,  he  was  here  ordained  and  in- 
stalled pastor. 

"From  the  time  of  his  settlement  he  continued  his 
labors  here,  greatly  beloved  and  extensively  useful, 
until  the  close  of  1795.  The  effect  of  a  natural  eccen- 
tricity, connected  with  the  most  enlarged  benevolence, 
which  his  private  fortune  enabled  him  to  exercise,  was 
only  to  increase  the  number  of  his  ardent  friends.  In 
that  year  he  had  a  violent  attack  of  scarlet  fever,  from 
which  he  but  slowly  recovered,  and  which  very  seri- 
ously affected  his  mind..  During  his  recovery  he  com- 
menced the  study  of  the  prophecies,  and  the  effect  was 
soon  obvious  in  a  mental  derangement  from  which  he 
never  wholly  recovered.  When  he  resumed  his  la- 
bors, he  commenced  preaching  on  the  60th  chapter  of 
Isaiah,  from  which  he  taught  the  doctrine  of  the  per- 
sonal reign  of  Christ,  and  that  His  second  coming  was 
to  take  place  on  the  fourth  Sabbath  of  May,  1796. 
The  attention  of  the  people  now  became  wonderful- 
ly excited,  and  such  was  the  rush  from  neighboring 
towns,  that  multitudes  on  the  Sabbath  could  not  get 
room  to  stand  in  the  church. 

"At  length  the  appointed  day  drew  near.     On  the 


REMOVAL   TO   ELIZABETHTOWN.  215 

Second  Advpirt.  Great  theme. 

previous  evening  a  meeting  was  held  for  prayer  and 
preparation  in  the  Methodist  Church,  and  the  house 
was  crowded,  lie  dwelt  on  the  history  of  the  Nine- 
vites  who  repented  at  the  preaching  of  Jonah,  and 
exhorted  to  imitate  their  example.  Weeping  and 
mourning  were  heard  in  all  parts  of  the  assembly. 
The  next  day  the  sun  rose  with  more  than  its  usual 
splendor,  and  a  vast  multitude  of  people  crowded  the 
house  and  surrounded  it.  But  the  day  passed  away 
without  any  unusual  occurrence;  and  many  of  his 
followers  were  only  now  convinced  that  he  was  under 
a  delusion,  and  that  he  deluded  them.  His  friends 
hoped  that  disappointment  would  dissipate  his  delu- 
sion, and  the  Session  remonstrated  with  him ;  but  his 
ingenuity  soon  found  excuses  for  his  Lord's  delay,  and 
his  enthusiasm  was  only  inflamed.  lie  charged  his 
Session,  and  the  members  of  the  Church  that  opposed 
him,  with  the  sin  and  guilt  of  Uzzah,  and  stated  that 
it  was  because  of  the  mere  mercy  of  God  that  they  did 
not  suffer  his  punishment.  At  this  time  he  took  the 
vow  of  a  Nazarite,  and  preached  incessantl}^,  some- 
times three  sermons  a  day,  through  this  part  of  the 
country.  Wherever  he  went  crowds  followed  him, 
and  God  overruled  the  excitement  he  produced  to  the 
conversion  of  many  souls.  His  great  theme  was  the 
near  approach  of  the  personal  reign  of  Christ  upon 
earth ;  and  that  as  Joshua  led  the  Jews  into  the  prom- 
ised land,  as  John  Baptist  was  the  forerunner  of  the 
Savior,  so  he  was  appointed  of  God  to  bring  in  the 
glorious  millennial  reign  of  righteousness. 

"  Finding  the  congregation  seriously  agitated  by  his 


216  REMOVAL   TO   ELIZABETHTOWN. 

New  Church.  Defense. 

proceedings,  and  having  declared  that  he  was  about 
to  establish  a  new  Church  upon  earth,  a  public  meet- 
ing was  called  and  a  committee  of  eleven  appointed  to 
wait  upon  him.  They  stated  their  grievances,  asked 
some  questions  as  to  his  future  proceedings,  and  re- 
quested in  reply  a  written  answer.  The  following  is 
his  answer : 

*"  To  Jonathan  Dayton,  of  the  committee  of  eleven,  appointed  by  the 
Congregation  of  Elizabethtown  to  wait  on  Mr.  Austin,  their  pastor, 
in  respect  to  the  present  course  and  object  of  his  ministry,  and  of 
the  concerns  of  the  Congregation  in  general : 

'"In  conformity  to  the  request  of  the  committee, 
that  the  answer  to  their  application  might  be  given  in 
writing,  it  may  be  said : 

'"In  respect  to  that  part  of  the  paper  read,  which 
hinted  at  and  complained  of  an  avowed  design  of  the 
pastor  to  institute  a  new  Church,  and  to  set  up  a  new 
order  of  things  in  ecclesiastical  concerns,  "  independ- 
ent of  Presbytery,  of  the  Synod,  or  of  the  General  As- 
sembly," it  may  be  openly  answered  that  such  is  my 
fixed  and  unalterable  determination !  For  a  warrant 
thus  to  proceed,  reference  may  be  had  to  the  third 
and  sixth  chapters  of  the  prophecy  of  Zechariah,  and 
to  many  other  passages  of  Scripture,  which  foretell  of  ^ 
these  things  and  of  these  days. 

" '  On  the  testimony  of  the  Scriptures,  and  on  the  in- 
ward teachings  of  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  and  on  the 
present  aspect  of  Providence,  and  on  uncommon  and 
extraordinary  revelations  of  the  mind  and  will  of  God 
to  this  point,  dependence  is  had  in  proof  of  a  special 
and  designating  call  to  proceed  in  this  solemn  and  in- 
teresting work. 


REMOVAL  TO   ELIZABETHTOWN.  217 

Warning.  Prophecy. 

" '  Be  it  known,  then,  to  the  committee  and  to  the 
congregation,  and  to  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  to 
the  world  at  large,  that  such  extraordinary  call  I  do 
profess  to  have  received,  and  that  it  is  my  glory  open- 
ly to  avow,  and  solemnly  to  profess  my  determination 
to  maintain  and  to  discharge  the  duties  of  it,  through 
the  faith  of  that  power  and  constant  grace  which  hath 
called  and  accompanied  me  in  this  concern  thus  far ! 

" '  Under  such  impressions,  standing  collected  and 
firm,  I  again  announce  to  the  committee,  to  the  congre- 
gation, and  to  all  concerned,  that  implicit  obedience  to 
the  voice  of  Heaven  is  my  fixed  determination ! 

" '  Let  this  declaration  be  productive  of  what  conse- 
quences it  may,  be  it  remembered,  that  the  anticipa- 
tions of  Divine  support  are  so  ready  -and  abundant, 
that  the  instrument  of  the  Divine  designs  feels  him- 
self ready,  and  professes  himself  willing,  to  meet  all 
obstacles  and  to  brave  all  dangers  in  the  prosecution 
of  the  noble  object  which  Infinite  Wisdom  hath  placed 
before  him. 

" '  The  baptism  of  the  cloud  and  of  the  sea  opened 
the  journey  of  God's  ancient  Israel  toward  the  good- 
ly land,  and  answeringly  to  the  former  example,  the 
present  course  of  spiritual  journeying  is  now  to  b© 
taken  up ;  and  if  the  scenes  of  the  ancient  warfare  are 
again  to  be  repeated,  faith  in  God  pronounces  His  eter- 
nal arm  to  be  mightily  sufficient  to  secure  the  victory 
in  every  conflict  in  which  His  own  shall  be  engaged ! 
and  it  may  be  well  for  opposition  to  the  predestinated 
purposes  of  God  to  remember  that  the  disasters  of 
those  whose  carcasses  fell  through  unbelief,  and  the 

K 


218  REMOVAL  TO   ELIZABETHTOWN. 

Confidence  Appeal. 

Utter  extirpation  of  those  who  stood  in  the  way  of  the 
advancing  forward  of  the  host  of  Israel  in  search  of 
the  goodly  land,  are  but  a  lively  figure  of  what  those 
are  to  expect  who  are  found  imitating  their  faithless 
and  wicked  example  in  these  later  days. 

'"Submitting  the  whole  concern  to  the  unqualified 
sovereignty  of  God,  and  to  the  decisions  of  those  to 
whom  these  presents  may  come,  subscribe  to  the  con- 
gregation, an  affectionate  pastor,  and  to  the  people  of 
God  in  every  place,  an  unfeigned  friend,  and  servant 
of  God  in  Christ  Jesus.  David  Austin. 

"  '  Elizabethtown,  Friday,  April  7th,  A.D.  1797.' 

"  Twelve  days  after  the  receipt  of  the  above  an- 
swer, the  following  petition  was  sent  to  the  Presby- 
tery of  New  York,  with  which  the  Church  was  then 
connected  : 

'"At  a  meeting  of  the  Elders,  Deacons,  Trustees, 
and  Members  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Congregation 
in  Elizabethtown,  at  their  Meeting-house,  on  "Wednes- 
day, the  19th  day  of  April,  1797,  at  two  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  of  that  day,  agreeable  to  adjournment,  Mr. 
Elias  Dayton  was  chosen  Moderator,  Mr.  Aaron  Og- 
den.  Clerk.  Resolved  unanimoiishj^  That  the  following 
petition  be  presented  to  the  Presbytery  of  New  York 
at  their  next  session : 

" '  The  Elders,  Deacons,  Trustees,  and  Members  of 
the  First  Presbyterian  Congregation  in  Elizabethtown 
respectfully  petition  the  reverend  Presbytery  of  New 
York  to  dissolve  the  pastoral  relation  now  subsisting 
between  the  Rev.  David  Austin  and  said  congregation, 


KEMOVAL  TO   ELIZABETHTOWN.  219 

Presbytery.  Decision. 

provided  they  are  of  opinion  that  the  following  reason 
is  a  sufficient  foundation  for  the  application,  namely, 
the  declaration  of  the  Kev.  Mr.  Austin's  intention  to 
set  up  a  new  Church,  independent  of  Presbytery,  Syn- 
od, or  General  Assembly ;  as  will  fully  appear  by  an 
acknowledgment  under  his  own  hand,  and  herewith 
sent. 

^'■'■Resolved  unanimously^  That  Messrs.  Jeremiah  Bal- 
lard, Benjamin  Corey,  and  Shepard  Kollock  be  a  com- 
jiiittee  for  the  purpose  of  presenting  the  foregoing  pe- 
tition. Elias  Dayton. 

" '  Attest,  Aaron  Ogden,  Clerk.' 

"  The  following  is  the  decision  of  the  Presbytery  in 
the  case,  which,  while  it  dissolves  his  pastoral  relation 
to  the  congregation,  and  protests  against  his  errors, 
and  warns  the  churches  against  him,  yet  bears  ample 
testimony  to  his  moral  character : 

"  '  Thursday,  May  4,  1797. 

"'The  consideration  of  the  petition  from  Elizabeth- 
town  was  resumed.  The  commissioners  from  the  con- 
gregation of  Elizabethtown  being  asked  whether  they 
had  any  thing  farther  to  offer  respecting  the  business, 
answered,  "  Not  at  present."  Mr.  Austin  being  then 
called  upon  to  know  whether  he  had  any  thing  to 
offer  respecting  the  petition  and  application  before 
Presbytery  from  the  congregation  of  Elizabethtown, 
replied,  That  he  had  no  objection  to  the  Presbytery's 
deciding  upon  that  petition  as  they  should  think  prop- 
er; and  that  he  took  this  opportunity  to  signify  his 
intention  to  withdraw,  and  declared  that  he  actually 


220  KEMOVAL   TO   ELIZABETHTOWN. 

Opinion.  His  character. 

did  then  withdraw  from  his  connection  with  this  Pres- 
bytery, and  from  all  Presbyterial  connection  and  gov- 
ernment. 

'"The  parties  being  removed,  the  Presbytery  pro- 
ceeded to  deliberate  and  to  form  a  judgment  upon  the 
case;  and,  after  due  deliberation,  unanimously  judged 
that  the  way  was  clear  for  granting  the  prayer  of  the 
petition  from  the  congregation  of  Elizabethtown,  to 
have  the  pastoral  relation  between  Mr.  Austin  and 
said  congregation  dissolved,  and  did  accordingly  dis- 
solve it,  and  hereby  declare  the  congregation  vacant. 

" '  With  respect  to  Mr.  Austin's  declaration  of  his 
having  withdrawn  from  his  connection  with  this  Pres- 
byter}^, and  from  all  Presbyterial  connection  and  gov- 
ernment, they  also  unanimously  declare  that  they  are 
sensibly  and  tenderly  affected  upon  the  occasion,  and 
sincerely  lament  the  unhappy  circumstances  which 
have  led  to  these  measures.  And  while  it  is  their 
wish  to  treat  Mr.  Austin's  person  and  character  with 
all  possible  delicacy  and  tenderness,  and  while  they 
declare  that  they  have  nothing  to  allege  against  his 
moral  character,  yet,  as  they  are  clearly  of  opinion 
that  Mr.  Austin  is,  and  has  for  more  than  a  year  past 
been  under  the  powerful  influence  of  enthusiasm  and" 
delusion,  evidently  manifested  by  his  giving  credit  to, 
and  being  guided  by,  supposed  revelations  and  com- 
munications of  an  extraordinary  kind;  his  alleged 
designation  and  call  to  particular  important  offices 
and  services ;  his  undertaking  to  fix  the  precise  time 
of  the  commencement  of  the  Millennium  to  the  fif- 
teenth day  of  May  last,  and  to  designate  the  circum- 


REMOVAL  TO   ELIZABETHTOWN.  221 


Deposed. 


Stances  of  its  commencement;  and  his  present  declara- 
tion of  his  intentions  to  institute  a  new  Church  and 
to  set  up  a  new  order  of  things  in  ecclesiastical  con- 
cerns ;  and  his  having  persisted  and  still  persisting  in 
similar  views  and  conduct,  notwithstanding  his  having 
been  faithfully  and  tenderly  dealt  with  on  this  head  by 
the  Presbytery  in  an  extra-judicial  capacity,  as  well 
as  by  individual  members:   the  Presbytery  having 
taken  these  things  into  consideration,  feel  themselves 
bound,  in  justice  to  the  Church  of  Christ  in  general, 
and  particularly  to  the  congregations  under  their  care, 
to  declare  that  they  can  not  recommend  Mr.  Austin  as 
one  who,  while  under  the  influence  of  this  enthusiasm 
and  delusion,  promises  usefulness  in  the  service  of  the 
Gospel  ministry ;   but,  on  the  contrary,  feel  it  to  be 
their  duty  solemnly  to  caution  all  against  giving  heed 
to  any  irrational  and  unscriptural  suggestions  and  im- 
pressions, as  delusions  of  Satan,  the  effects  of  a  disor- 
dered imagination,  tending  to  mislead,  deceive,  and  de- 
stroy the  souls  of  men,  and  to  affect  the  union,  the 
peace,  and  the  harmony  of  the  Church  of  Christ.' 

"After  his  removal  by  the  Presbytery  from  his 
congregation,  Mr.  Austin  preached  in  the  surrounding 
country  for  a  short  while,  when  he  returned  to  New 
Haven.  Believing  in  the  literal  return  of  the  Jews  to 
the  Holy  Land,  and  that  New  Haven  was  to  be  the 
place  of  their  embarkation  from  this  country,  he  erect- 
ed houses  and  a  wharf  for  their  use.  Unable  to  pay 
the  debts  he  incurred,  he  was  imprisoned  for  some 
time.     During  his  confinement  his  mind  seemed  in 


222  REMOVAL  TO   ELIZABETHTOWN. 

Kecovers.  Death. 

some  measure  to  recover  itself;  but  yet  on  the  subject 
of  prophecy  was  distracted.  He  returned  to  this  town 
in  1804,  when,  being  refused  admission  to  his  old  pul- 
pit, subscriptions  were  circulated  for  putting  the  Meth- 
odist church  into  a  state  of  repair  for  his  use.  The 
object  was  obtained,  and  he  preached  there  for  a  short 
while,  but  the  state  of  his  mind  now  became  obvious 
to  all;  his  friends  could  no  longer  encourage  him,  and 
he  again  returned  to  New  England.  His  mind  grad- 
ually emerged  from  the  cloud  that  obscured  it,  and  he 
again  entered  upon  a  career  of  usefulness.  His  excel- 
lent wife,  possessed  of  an  ample  patrimony,  exerted  a 
most  happy  influence  upon  him,  and  greatly  aided  in 
restoring  his  mind  to  its  former  balance.  For  a  num- 
ber of  years  he  preached  in  vacant  churches  in  the 
eastern  part  of  Connecticut.  In  1815  he  received  a 
call  from  the  Church  in  Bozrah,  where  he  was  installed 
on  the  9th  of  May  of  that  year.  Here  he  preached 
regularly,  and  with  great  acceptance  and  success,  until 
his  death,  which  took  place  at  Norwich,  February  5, 
1831,  in  the  72d  year  of  his  age. 

"  Mr.  Austin  was  decidedly  one  of  the  most  popu- 
lar preachers  of  his  day.  Up  to  the  time  of  his  great 
affliction,  no  man  could  be  more  universally  beloved 
and  admired.  Dignified  in  personal  appearance,  pol- 
ished in  manners,  eloquent  in  his  public  performances, 
giving  all  his  goods  to  feed  the  poor,  he  exerted  a 
commanding  influence,  not  only  over  his  own  congre- 
gation, but  also  over  many  of  the  leading  minds  of 
his  day.  His  memory  was  retentive,  and  his  conver- 
sational powers  extraordinary.     His  devotional  exer- 


REMOVAL  TO   ELIZABETHTOWK  223 

Rev.  J.  Giles.  Rev.  Dr.  Kollock. 

cises  were  peculiarly  happy  and  impressive;  and  all 
who  remember  him  testify  that  few  have  ever  sur- 
passed him  in  public  prayer.  Besides  performing  a 
great  amount  of  pastoral  labors,  he  did  good  service 
for  the  theological  literature  of  the  country.  He  edit- 
ed and  published  a  Commentary  upon  the  Bible,  some 
of  President  Edwards'  most  valuable  works;  and  he 
commenced  a  monthly  publication  of  original  ser- 
mons by  living  ministers,  which  reached  its  fourth 
volume,  under  the  title  of  'The  American  Preacher.' 
When  at  the  high  noon  of  his  fame  and  usefulness, 
that  thick  cloud  fell  upon  his  intellect  which  was  nev- 
er wholly  removed  during  his  life.  We  have  seen 
but  one  production  of  his  in  print,  '  The  Downfall  of 
the  Mystical  Babylon,'  save  his  'Proclamation  for  the 
Millennial  Empire,'  published  in  folio  sheet,  in  New 
York,  in  1805. 

"  The  successor  of  Mr.  Austin  was  the  Eev.  John 
Giles.  He  was  born  in  England,  and  came  to  this 
town  in  June,  1799,  and  buried  his  wife  here  on  the 
5th  of  August  following.  He  was  installed  on  the 
4th  of  June,  1800;  but  such  was  the  effect  of  the  death 
of  his  wife  on  his  health  and  spirits  as  to  unfit  him  for 
pastoral  duties,  and  he  sought  and  obtained  a  dismis- 
sion in  the  following  October. 

"  The  successor  of  Mr.  Giles  was  the  Eev.  Henry 
Kollock.  He  was  ordained  and  installed  in  this  place 
December  10th,  1800.  After  a  brilliant  ministry  of 
three  years,  of  whose  usefulness  there  are  yet  living 
witnesses,  he  removed  to  Princeton  in  December,  1803, 
because  of  his  election  to  the  ofiSce  of  Professor  of  Di- 


224  REMOVAL  TO  ELIZABETHTOWN. 

Kev.  Dr.  M'Dowell.  Rev.  Dr.  Magie. 

vinity  in  the  College  of  New  Jersey.  He  afterward 
settled  in  Savannah,  where  he  died,  universally  la- 
mented, December  29th,  1819.  He  was  principally 
distinguished  for  his  remarkable  eloquence,  which  was 
unsurpassed  in  his  day  in  the  American  pulpit. 

"  On  the  26th  of  December,  1804,  the  Kev.  John 
M'Dowell,  D.D.,  was  ordained  and  installed  the  suc- 
cessor of  Dr.  Kollock,  and  continued  the  minister  of 
the  Church  for  twenty-nine  years,  when  he  was  dis- 
missed, April  30,  1833,  to  become  the  pastor  of  the 
Central  Presbyterian  Church  in  Philadelphia.  With 
the  exception  of  Dickinson's,  his  was  the  longest  min- 
istry that  the  First  Church  ever  enjoyed,  and,  proba- 
bly, was  the  most  useful  of  any.  But  as  he  is  yet  liv- 
ing, and  active  and  useful,  what  might  justly  be  said 
of  him  here  must  be  left  to  his  biographer  to  say  after 
the  good  fight  he  has  been  so  long  waging  is  term- 
inated, and  he  has  gone  up  to  wear  his  crown,  and 
with  those  who  have  turned  many  to  righteousness  to 
shine  as  a  star  forever  and  ever." 

During  the  ministry  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  M'Dowell,  the 
growth  of  the  Church  was  so  great  that  the  house  of 
worship  was  not  adequate  to  accommodate  them,  and 
the  number  of  families  was  too  large  for  one  pastor. 
He  led  the  way  to  found  a  new  Church,  and  certain 
individuals  were  selected  and  designated  to  embark 
in  the  enterprise.  They  went  out  with  the  prayers 
and  benedictions  of  the  pastor  and  people  they  left. 
They  called  the  Eev.  David  Magie,  one  of  their  own 
number,  a  native  of  the  town,  to  be  their  pastor.  He 
accepted  their  call ;  and  being  settled  over  them,  and 


REMOVAL   TO   ELIZABETHTOWN.  225 

Second  Church.  Predeceaaore. 

married  to  one  of  their  number,  also  a  native  of  the 
town,  has  been  their  faithful,  successful,  and  honored 
shepherd  to  this  day.  It  is  now  more  than  forty 
years  since  Dr.  Magie  was  settled  over  this,  the  Sec- 
ond Presbyterian  Church.  In  numbers,  strength,  and 
efficient  piety,  the  congregation  is  among  the  first  in 
our  country. 

These  historical  reminiscences  were  essential  to  a 
proper  appreciation  of  the  field  and  the  work  upon 
which  Mr,  Murray  entered.  As  the  successor  of  a 
long  line  of  distinguished  ministers,  and  the  pastor  of 
a  large  and  intelligent  people  that  had  been  well  in- 
structed in  the  Word  of  Life  from  year  to  year,  it 
was  no  small  undertaking  to  sustain  himself  in  such 
a  position,  and  successfully  build  upon  the  foundation 
which  these  great  men  had  laid. 
K2 


226  PASTORAL  LIFE. 


His  purpose  of  life. 


CHAPTER  Xn. 

The  Field  before  him. — His  private  Devotion. — His  "Wit  and  Piety. 
— Systematic  Study  of  the  Bible. — Preparation  for  the  Pulpit. — 
Pastoral  Labors. — Knows  every  one. — A  friend  to  all. — His  Rec- 
ord.— His  first  Sermon  as  Pastor. — The  Half-witted  Hearer. — A 
Sorrowful  Sermon. — The  first  Revival. — Incident  in  a  Farm-house. 

His  life's  work  was  now  before  him.  Whether  he 
had  formed  already  the  purpose  of  spending  the  rest 
of  his  days  in  this  field,  it  is  unnecessary  to  inquire ; 
but  we  have  evidence  enough  that  he  determined  to 
enter  upon  his  labors,  and  pursue  them  with  the  same 
dihgence  and  devotion  that  he  would  summon  to  the 
work  if  here  only  he  was  to  win  the  reward  of  a  good 
and  faithful  servant. 

When  he  entered  the  Seminary  at  Princeton,  he  re- 
Cords  in  his  journal  that  hitherto  he  had  been  actuated 
by  unholy  ambition  in  the  pursuit  of  knowledge.  On 
the  threshold  of  his  ministerial  studies,  he  resolved  to 
sacrifice  that  passion,  and  to  be  hereafter  governed  by 
the  single  desire  to  honor  God  and  do  good  to  his  fel- 
low-men. And  now,  at  the  outset  of  his  ministerial 
life  in  Elizabethtown,  he  makes  a  holy  resolution  to 
devote  his  whole  energies  to  the  simple  service  of  his 
Master,  in  the  advancement  of  the  best  interests  of  the 
Church  and  the  world. 

Every  thing  in  his  present  situation  was  favorable 
to  the  development  of  his  plans  of  usefulness;  and. 


PASTORAL   LIFE.  227 


Private  devotion.  Stndv 

with  a  method  and  precision  scarcely  if  ever  equaled 
he  commenced  his  labors,  and  pursued  them  steadily 
and  successfully  to  the  close  of  his  earthly  career. 

Before  all  else,  he  was  systematic  and  constant  in 
his  habits  of  private  devotion,  seeking,  in  intimate 
and  regular  communion  with  God,  the  inspiration  and 
strength  that  were  essential  to  the  successful  prosecu- 
tion of  his  duties  in  the  study,  the  pulpit,  and  the  con- 
gregation. In  the  social  circle,  and  especially  in  the 
society  of  his  ministerial  brethren,  he  was  always  so 
full  of  pleasantry ;  the  humorous  story,  the  lively  rep- 
artee, the  sudden  flash  of  wit,  and  the  hearty  laugh 
were  so  frequent  with  him,  that  persons  who  associate 
spiritual  piety  with  habitual  solemnity  may  have  been 
under  the  impression  that  Dr.  Murray  was  not  a  man 
of  devotional  habits.  But  those  who  knew  him  more 
intimately  were  well  aware  that  all  his  springs  were 
in  God.  lie  drew  from  the  Fountain  of  living  waters 
daily  and  hourly  supplies.  This  was  the  secret  of  his 
success  in  the  execution  of  all  his  plans  of  life.  He 
began,  continued,  and  ended  them  with  prayer. 

He  devoted  part  of  every  day  to  the  systematic 
study  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  in  the  original  tongues. 
As  it  was  comparatively  late  in  life  that  he  entered 
upon  a  course  of  preparation  for  the  ministry,  it  was 
always  his  fear  that  this  early  deficiency  would  make 
him  liable  to  mistakes ;  and  the  diligence  with  which 
he  pursued  his  studies  in  later  years  made  up  for  the 
want  of  opportunities  in  youth.  Without  pretending 
to  be  a  critical  scholar,  by  his  proOTessive  and  patient 
pursuit  of  learning  through  every^uccecding  year  of 

9 


228  PASTORAL   LIFE. 


Preaching.  System. 

his  life,  he  became  mighty  in  the  Scriptures,  and  dis- 
tinguished as  a  defender  of  the  truth. 

Justly  regarding  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  as  the 
primary  business  of  the  Christian  minister,  he  adopted 
the  most  systematic  and  careful  habits  of  preparation 
for  the  pulpit.  Early  in  the  week  selecting  his  themes 
of  discourse,  and  diligently  investigating  them  with 
the  aid  of  a  well-selected  library,  he  wrote  out  his  ser- 
mons with  the  same  fullness,  completeness,  and  finish 
that  he  would  attempt  if  each  discourse  were  to  be 
given  to  the  printer  on  Monday  morning.  A  thou- 
sand and  sixty-five  manuscript  sermons  are  the  proofs 
that  he  rigidly  pursued  this  practice  through  life,  and 
that  he  began  as  he  designed  to  continue.  Of  his  suc- 
cess in  this  work  we  shall  see  the  fruit  hereafter. 

The  same  thorough  and  methodical  habits  were 
carried  out  in  the  pastoral  care  of  his  widely-scattered 
flock.  With  a  faculty  of  adapting  himself  to  all  the 
people,  equally  conversable  with  the  learned  and  un- 
lettered, the  young  and  the  old,  a  welcome  visitor  at 
all  hours  and  on  all  occasions,  he  excelled  in  his  pow- 
er to  interest  and  instruct  the  families  of  his  charge 
when  he  went  from  house  to  house  as  their  pastor. 
Always  ready  to  answer  every  call  upon  him  to  visit 
the  sick  and  afflicted,  he  set  apart  certain  seasons  of 
the  year  for  family  visitation,  when  he  called  at  every 
house  in  its  order,  instructing  the  children  in  the  Cat- 
echisms of  the  Church,  conversing  with  each  member 
on  personal  religion,  and  praying  with  the  family. 
These  rounds  of  duty  he  pursued  year  after  year,  with 
no  lack  of  energy  or  fidelity,  as  he  became  more  in- 


PASTORAL   LIFE.  229 


Kecords.  Sketch-book. 

volved  in  the  public  business  of  the  Church  at  large. 
"Whatever  distinction  he  afterward  attained  as  an  au- 
thor, and  however  widely  his  influence  was  extended, 
his  own  vineyard  at  home  was  never  suffered  to  lie 
waste,  nor  did  he  neglect,  on  any  pretense,  the  minu- 
test duty  required  of  the  pastor  of  a  rural  parish. 

To  perpetuate  the  record  of  interesting  and  import- 
ant events  in  the  history  of  his  congregation,  and 
doubtless  also  to  confirm  his  own  habit  of  systematic 
attention  to  the  duties  of  his  office,  he  procured  a  large 
folio  blank  volume,  like  a  merchant's  ledger,  in  which 
he  and  his  successors  in  the  ministry  of  this  Church 
might  inscribe  such  facts  as  should  be  had  in  remem- 
brance in  after  time.  He  opens  the  book  with  this 
brief  preface : 

"  As  this  book  is  simply  designed  to  be  a  register 
of  facta,  circumstances,  and  incidents  just  as  they  oc- 
cur, for  the  purpose  of  keeping  up  a  continuous  his- 
tory of  this  ancient  congregation,  it  is  hoped  that  all 
succeeding  pastors  will  continue  this  registry  from  the 
point  where  their  predecessors  leave  off. 

"This  registry  is  to  be  kept  by  the  pastors  in  a 
plain  hand,  and  this  book  is  to  be  carefully  preserved 
in  the  ministerial  library. 

"  The  facts  here  to  be  inserted  are  not  to  be  exclu- 
sively confined  to  the  history  of  the  congregation. 
Those  of  general  interest  may  not  be  excluded  whose 
insertion  would  be  either  useful  or  interesting  to  fu- 
ture generations." 

This  register  might  with  great  propriety  be  trans- 
ferred entire  into  this  volume,  as  a  brief,  comprehen- 


230  PASTOKAL   LIFE. 


Kotes  by  the  way.  Tir^t  sermon. 

sive,  and  statistical  record  of  the  pastoral  life  of  Dr. 
Murray  in  Elizabethtown.  But  it  necessarily  omits 
many  facts  respecting  himself,  which  we  are  able  to 
supply  from  contemporaneous  testimony,  and  we  shall 
use  it  as  a  guide  in  the  pursuit  of  his  history  from 
this  time  onward.  He  was  also  in  the  habit  of  keep- 
ing "  note-books,"  in  which  he  entered  with  great  mi- 
nuteness striking  incidents  in  pastoral  experience,  with 
reflections  which  they  suggested.  These  sources  fur- 
nish ample  stores  to  illustrate  his  public  and  private 
life,  and  with  them  all  at  our  hands,  we  begin  to  trace 
the  progress  of  his  labors  among  this  people,  and  we 
will  commence  with  the  first  service  on  the  first  Sab- 
bath after  his  settlement.     He  writes : 

"  On  Sabbath  morning,  as  I  was  retiring  from  the 
church,  after  preaching  my  first  sermon,  I  was  arrested 
by  a  man  in  the  belfry  in  a  way  peculiar  and  striking. 
His  garb  was  plain — his  form  of  the  middle  size — his 
countenance  had  a  vague,  but  yet  a  pleased  expression. 
Without  waiting  for  an  introduction,  he  came  forward 
and  earnestly  extended  his  hand  to  grasp  mine.  The 
pressure  was  painfully  cordial;  and  while  one  hand 
pressed  mine,  and  the  other  his  own  bosom,  he  said,  '  I 
thank  you  for  that  sermon  ;  it  has  done  my  soul  good.' 
His  voice  was  indistinct  and  husky,  and  his  appearance 
not  prepossessing ;  but  there  was  a  heartfelt  cordiality 
in  his  greeting  which  impressed  me  with  his  thorough 
sincerity.  On  the  next  Sabbath,  and  on  the  next,  he 
met  and  greeted  me  in  the  same  way.  As  he  had 
reached  midlife,  I  marked  him  as  a  peculiar  character. 

"I  soon  visited  the  Sabbath-school;  and  the  very 


PASTORAL   LIFE.  231 


Sabbath-school  teacher. 


first  person  that  arrested  my  attention  was  this  man, 
sitting  in  one  of  the  classes  surrounded  by  young  boys, 
and  reciting  with  them  his  lesson.  My  curiosity  being 
excited,  I  went  and  stood  by  his  class,  and  found  him 
spelling  his  way  through  a  verse  of  one  of  the  Gospels; 
and  obviously  without  understanding  the  sentiment 
which  it  taught.  On  inquiry,  I  learned  that  he  was 
the  son  of  Christian  parents;  that  his  mother,  who 
was  a  woman  of  marked  piety,  had  been  deceased  for 
years ;  and  that,  because  of  the  great  feebleness  of  his 
intellect,  he  could  never  be  taught  to  read.  As  the 
name  of  the  Savior  was  constantly  on  his  lips,  as  his 
piety  seemed  to  be  of  the  most  ardent  character,  my 
curiosity  was  greatly  quickened  to  learn  the  details  of 
his  religious  history,  which  is  briefly  as  follows : 

"  As  his  mental  debility  early  developed  itself,  his 
pious  mother  became  the  more  solicitous  that  he  should 
be  taught  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  Daily  did  she  pray 
with  him ;  and,  selecting  the  simplest  truths  of  the 
Gospel,  daily  did  she  seek  to  impress  them  on  his  mind. 
But  if  his  mind  was  feeble  in  sense,  his  heart  was 
strong  in  depravity,  and  these  means  were  ineffectual. 
After  he  reached  mature  years,  there  occurred  a  gentle 
refreshing  of  the  Spirit.  A  meeting  for  conference 
with  the  serious  and  inquiring  was  appointed,  and  he 
was  among  those  who  attended.  From  week  to  week 
his  seat  was  never  vacant.  When  candidates  for  the 
communion  of  the  Church  were  invited  to  meet  with 
the  Session,  he  was  among  those  that  attended.  When 
asked  if  he  hoped  he  was  a  Christian,  his  emphatic  re- 
ply was,  '  I  hope  I  am.'     About  the  doctrines  of  the 


232  PASTORAL   LIFE. 


1  feel  that  I  am.  Love  of  Chi-ist 

Church  he  knew  absolutely  nothing,  and  when  ques- 
tioned in  reference  to  them  he  made  no  reply.  He 
could  give  no  reason  for  the  hope  which  was  in  him. 
When  asked  why  he  hoped  he  was  a  Christian,  laying 
his  hands  on  his  heart,  he  answered,  '  I  feel  that  I  am, 
here.'  With  some  fears,  he  was  admitted  to  the  Lord's 
Supper,  and  the  whole  of  his  subsequent  life  demon- 
strated that  he  was  born  from  above. 

"In  the  year  that  he  made  a  profession  of  religion 
his  mother  died.  Feeble  as  was  his  mind,  the  impres- 
sions which  she  made  upon  it  were  never  erased.  His 
very  highest  conception  of  heaven  was  that  it  was  the 
place  where  his  mother  went  to  see  Jesus,  and  his 
highest  ecstasy  was  induced  by  the  thought  that  when 
he  died  he  would  go  to  heaven  to  see  Jesus  and  his 
own  dear  mother. 

"  There  was  but  one  thought  which  seemed  to  enter 
his  soul,  and  that  entirely  occupied  it.  This  was  con- 
stantly obvious.  Preach  on  what  subject  I  might, 
nothing  was  understood,  nothing  felt,  unless  it  was  the 
love  of  Christ.  For  years,  rarely  a  Sabbath  passed 
away  without  his  greeting  me  in  the  belfry ;  but  noth- 
ing was  said  about  the  sermons  unless  they  dwelt  upon 
the  love  of  Christ.  Then  his  usual  expression  was, 
'  That  sermon  is  good  to  my  soul ;  it  told  me  about 
the  love  of  Christ.' 

"He  frequented  prayer-meetings  sustained  by  the 
young  people  and  for  their  mutual  benefit.  One  of 
his  weaknesses  was  to  make  exhortations  in  these 
meetings,  and  until  they  became  an  annoyance.  But 
he  never  succeeded  in  getting  beyond  one  idea;  and 


PASTORAL  LIFE.  233 


Lo\'ing  kindness. 


upon  that — '  the  love  of  Christ,  the  love  of  Christ' — 
he  would  ring  changes  for  fifteen  minutes  together. 
That  one  idea  occupied  and  filled  his  whole  soul.  It 
was  the  one  constant  theme  of  his  conversation  every 
where.  The  only  hymn  that  ever  seemed  to  have  im- 
pressed him,  or  whose  singing  he  ever  seemed  to  en- 
joy, was  that  called  'Loving  Kindness.'  However 
dull  and  uninterested  he  seemed  to  be  in  a  prayer- 
meeting,  the  moment  the  first  notes  of  the  hymn 

"  '  Awake,  my  soul,  to  joyful  lays, 

And  sing  thy  great  Redeemer's  praise,' 

fell  upon  his  ear,  his  countenance  brightened  up,  and 
his  whole  soul  was  in  sympathy  with  the  song  of 
praise.  And  when  in  a  social  meeting  which  did  not 
greatly  interest  him,  his  peculiar  voice  was  often  heard 
saying, '  Sing  Loving  Kindness.' 

"  His  zeal,  though  not  always  according  to  knowl- 
edge, was  of  the  purest  character,  and  knew  no  relax- 
ation. "Was  any  person  sick  in  his  neighborhood? 
He  was  among  the  first  to  find  it  out  and  to  visit  the 
sick-bed.  And  feeble  as  was  his  comprehension  of 
truth,  and  broken  and  repetitious  as  were  his  prayers, 
I  have  often  heard  the  sick  speak  of  the  comforts 
which  they  received  from  his  visits.  He  often  pre- 
ceded the  minister  and  the  elder — often  conveyed  to 
them  the  information  of  sickness  and  afiiiction,  and  so- 
licited their  attention  ;  and  often  prayed  and  exhorted 
where  their  services  might  not  be  kindly  received. 
The  perfect  confidence  entertained  by  all  in  his  sin- 
cerity induced  them  to  forget  his  extreme  feebleness, 
to  overlook  what  would  be  regarded  as  intrusion  in 


234  PASTORAL    LIFE. 


Uncle  Xelieiniali.  Iinpiessiona. 

others,  and  to  put  the  best  possible  construction  on  all 
that  he  did.  I  heard  a  profane  scoffer  say,  after  re- 
covering from  a  sick-bed  on  which  he  had  been  often 
visited  by  this  man, '  Well,  if  there  is  a  Christian  upon 
earth,  it  is  Uncle  Nehemiah.'  More  than  once,  when 
his  minister  was  sick  and  in  affliction,  did  he  come  and 
ask  the  privilege  of  praying  with  him  and  his  family. 
Such  was  his  life  for  years  together. 

"  And  in  full  keeping  with  his  life  was  his  death. 
During  the  protracted  sickness  which  brought  his  days 
to  their  close,  I  frequently  visited  him.  There  was 
an  unshaken  confidence  in  Christ — a  cloudless  enjoy- 
ment of  the  light  of  his  countenance ;  the  love  of  Christ 
was  his  constant  theme.  The  very  last  words  that  he 
ever  uttered  in  my  hearing  were  about  going  to  heav- 
en to  see  Jesus  Christ  and  his  dear  mother. 

"  There  are  a  few  truths  which  this  narrative  of  the 
life  and  death  of  '  Uncle  Nehemiah,'  as  he  was  famil- 
iarly called,  forcibly  teach  and  illustrate. 

"  1.  It  teaches  us  how  deep  and  durable  are  the  im- 
pressions which  may  be  made  on  the  minds  of  her 
children  by  a  pious  mother.  Here  was  a  mind,  be- 
cause of  its  feebleness,  difficult  of  impression ;  yet  a 
pious  mother  so  impressed  it,  so  engraved  her  own 
image  upon  it,  as  that  nothing  could  erase  her  impres- 
sions or  image.  How  deeply  must  it  have  been  im- 
pressed with  a  sense  of  her  piety,  when  its  highest 
idea  of  heaven  was  that  it  was  the  home  of  Jesus  and 
his  mother !  What  might  the  sons  of  the  Church  be, 
if  all  their  mothers  were  like  the  mother  of  Nehemiah ! 

"2.  It  illustrates  the  truth  of  the  great  doctrine  of 


PASTORAL  LIFE.  235 


SubmiMion.  Siiviiig  ti-utli. 

regeneration.  This  consists,  not  in  submission  to  the 
ordinances  and  forms  of  religion,  but  in  being  created 
anew  in  Christ  Jesus.  In  his  youth,  Nehemiah  was 
wayward,  and,  like  persons  of  mental  feebleness  gener- 
ally, greatly  under  the  influence  of  passion.  Submis- 
sion to  ordinances  and  forms  could  not  correct  this; 
the  formal  Jew,  the  Papist,  the  Mohammedan,  can  go 
out  from  their  most  solemn  ritual  observances  as 
wicked  and  as  turbulent  as  ever.  Nothing  but  a 
change  at  the  great  spring  of  life  can  permanently 
change  the  life.  There  was  no  intellectual  power  here 
to  moralize — no  judgment  to  strengthen — no  reason 
to  wake  up  to  its  duty — no  capacity  to  instruct.  And 
yet  there  is  a  great,  obvious,  and  permanent  change. 
How  account  for  it  ?  In  no  way  save  on  the  ground 
of  a  change  of  heart  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

"  3.  It  also  illustrates  what  is  the  great  saving  truth 
of  the  Gospel.  It  is  a  simple  view  of  Christ  as  the 
Savior  of  sinners,  and  a  simple  resting  upon  Him  as 
our  Savior.  Other  truths  are  important — they  are  im- 
portant to  a  well-balanced  faith  and  life,  but  the  great, 
essential  truth  is  faith  in  Christ.  '  He  that  believeth 
in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  shall  be  saved.'  This  is  so 
plain,  that  a  wayfaring  man,  though  a  fool,  need  not 
err  respecting  it.  "When  this  faith  is  wrought  in  us 
by  the  Holy  Ghost,  then,  whether  we  possess  the  ex- 
pansive intellect  of  Paul,  or  the  feeble  one  of  Nehe- 
miah,  Christ  is  the  polar  star  of  the  soul. 

"  Oh,  if  all  the  intellectual  endowments  of  the  pro- 
fessors of  the  religion  of  Christ  were  consecrated  to  His 
service,  as  was  the  one  talent  of  this  feeble  child  of 


236  PASTORAL   LIFE. 


heaven,  how  soon  would  the  wilderness  and  solitary 
portions  of  earth  rejoice,  and  the  desert  blossom  as  the 
rose !  How  hath  God  chosen  the  foolish  things  of  the 
world  to  confound  the  mighty !" 

"  A  few  months  afterward  I  spent  one  morning  in 
my  study  in  preparation  for  the  Sabbath,  with  no  ex- 
citement of  thought  or  feeling  on  my  mind  or  heart. 
The  most  important  truths  had  lost  all  their  connec- 
tion, vitality,  and  freshness,  and  seemed  to  lie  before 
me  like  a  bundle  of  dry  sticks;  and  to  produce  a 
thought  seemed  as  impossible  as  to  draw  water  from 
an  empty  well  with  a  bucket  without  a  bottom ;  and 
the  morning  was  spent  in  the  vain  effort  to  arrange 
some  ideas  on  a  selected  text  worthy  of  being  placed 
on  paper.  Mind  and  heart  seemed  as  barren  as  the 
sands  of  the  desert. 

"The  afternoon  was  given  to  preparation  for  the 
evening  lecture,  but  there  was  no  lifting  up  of  that 
'  blackness  of  darkness.'  It  became  denser  with  the 
approach  of  evening.  The  Bible  was  turned  over 
from  cover  to  cover,  but  not  a  text  could  be  found 
from  which  a  sentiment  or  meaning  could  be  drawn 
adapted  to  the  occasion  or  to  the  audience  which 
usually  met  in  the  lecture-room.  The  very  avenues 
to  the  throne  of  grace  seemed  barred  up  against  all 
access  to  God,  so  that  I  could  truly  say,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  Job,  '  Behold,  I  go  forward,  but  He  is  not 
there ;  and  backward,  but  I  can  not  perceive  Him ;  on 
the  left  hand,  where  He  doth  work,  but  I  can  not  be- 
hold Him ;  He  hideth  himself  on  the  right  hand,  that  I 
can  not  see  Him.'     Of  all  the  days  of  my  life,  that  was 


PASTORAL   LIFE.  237 


Prayer-meeting.  Gloom. 

the  day  in  which  I  could  say  most  emphatically,  as  to 
spiritual  things,  that  'a  horror  of  great  darkness'  had 
fallen  upon  me.  The  sun,  moon,  and  stars  had  all 
gone  out  in  my  spiritual  sky. 

"  The  bell  rang  for  the  evening  service,  and  its  first 
notes  fell  upon  my  ear  as  a  death-knell.  Slowly  and 
sorrowfully  I  went  to  that  meeting  with  my  people, 
my  mind  a  perfect  blank,  and  without  a  text  or  sub- 
ject on  which  to  discourse  to  them.  It  was  a  charm- 
ing night  in  October,  when  the  moon  was  shining 
brightly,  and,  to  my  regret,  I  found  the  lecture-room 
unusually  full.  I  resolved  to  change  the  service  into  a 
meeting  for  prayer,  and  commenced  it  with  the  hymn, 

"  'How  long  wilt  Thou  conceal  Thy  face? 
My  God,  how  long  delay  ? 
When  shall  I  feel  those  heavenly  rays 
That  chase  my  fears  away  ?' 

I  called  upon  an  aged  elder  to  pray,  who  prayed  with 
remarkable  devotion  of  thought  and  with  great  unc- 
tion. Because  in  consonance  with  my  feelings,  I  read 
the  42d  Psalm,  and  my  heart  could  truly  respond  to 
the  sentiment  of  the  Psalmist :  '  O  my  God,  my  soul 
is  cast  down  within  me  ...  all  Thy  waves  and  Thy 
billows  are  gone  over  me.'  But  I  was  yet  without  a 
text  or  subject  on  which  to  address  the  people.  I  call- 
ed upon  another  elder  to  pray,  who  in  his  supplications 
entered  fully  into  the  spirit  of  the  psalm ;  and  while  he 
confessed  and  bewailed  our  spiritual  desertion,  most 
fervently  implored  that  the  Lord  would  again  'give  us 
a  little  reviving  in  our  bondage.'  It  was  during  this 
prayer,  and,  indeed,  by  the  prayer  itself,  that  the  topic 


238  PASTORAL  LIFE. 


Decline.  Building  up. 

of  '  declension  in  religion'  was  suggested  as  a  theme 
for  remark.  Drawing  largely  on  the  existing  feelings 
of  my  own  mind  and  heart,  without  a  text,  and  with- 
out knowing  what  I  was  going  to  say  when  I  com- 
menced, I  entered  upon  the  topic,  and  said  something 
on  the  causes,  marks,  and  remedy  of  spiritual  declen- 
sion. The  following  language  of  Cecil  was  brought 
seasonably  to  my  remembrance,  and  was  quoted  for 
substance:  'A  Christian  may  decline  far  in  religion 
without  being  suspected;  he  may  maintain  appear- 
ances. Every  thing  to  others  seems  to  go  on  well. 
He  suspects  himself;  for  it  requires  great  labor  to 
maintain  appearances,  especially  in  a  minister.  Dis- 
cerning hearers  will,  however,  often  detect  such  de- 
clensions. He  talks  over  his  old  matters.  He  says 
his  things,  but  in  a  cold  and  unfeeling  manner.  He 
is  sound,  indeed,  in  doctrine ;  perhaps  more  sound  than 
before,  for  there  is  a  great  tendency  to  soundness  of 
doctrine  when  appearances  are  to  be  kept  up  in  a  de- 
clining state  of  the  heart.  Where  a  man  has  real  grace, 
it  may  be  a  part  of  a  dispensation  toward  him  to  per- 
mit him  to  decline.  He  walked  carelessly;  he  was 
left  to  decline,  that  he  might  be  brought  to  feel  his 
need  of  vigilance.  If  he  is  indulging  a  besetting  sin, 
it  may  please  God  to  expose  him,  that  he  may  hang 
down  his  head  as  long  as  he  lives.  But  this  is  pulling 
down  in  order  to  build  up.' 

"  As  I  proceeded,  the  subject  seemed  to  open  up 
before  me,  but  I  felt  that  I  condemned  myself  at  every 
sentence ;  and  at  the  conclusion  of  a  disconnected, 
fragmentary  address,  I  called  upon  another  person  to 


PASTORAL   LIFE.  239 


Encouraged.  The  promiae. 

conclude  the  meeting  with  prayer.  On  the  conclusion 
of  the  services,  I  returned  to  my  study  dejected,  and 
oppressed  with  a  sense  of  my  being  forsaken  of  God, 
and  grieved  that  I  had  ever  assumed  the  responsibil- 
ities of  the  ministry. 

"  On  the  afternoon  of  the  next  day,  an  intelligent 
and  pious  female  called  to  see  me.  She  alluded  to  the 
service  of  the  previous  evening  as  being  one  of  the 
most  solemn  she  had  recently  attended.  I  heard  her 
with  silence,  and  made  no  response.  One  of  the  men 
who  prayed  soon  afterward  called ;  he  made  the  same 
remark.  The  solemnity  of  that  evening's  lecture  was 
a  topic  of  conversation  for  some  days  with  those  who 
were  present.  The  prayer-meetings  were  soon  more 
fully  attended.  There  were  searchings  of  heart  among 
the  people.  Our  public  and  social  services  increased 
in  attendance  and  solemnity.  The  praying  and  the 
anxious  ones,  as  they  invariably  do,  multiplied  simul- 
taneously ;  and  thus  opened  the  first  revival,  in  Eliza- 
bethtown,  under  my  ministry,  and  which  continued 
for  upward  of  a  year,  gently  distilling  its  blessed  in- 
fluences, multiplying  the  followers  of  Christ  and  their 
graces.  Some  of  its  subjects  are  now  faithful  and  use- 
ful ministers  of  the  Gospel.  Never  did  I  more  fully 
realize  the  truth  of  the  proverb,  that '  the  darkest  hour 
is  just  before  the  light,'  or  of  the  saying  of  the  Psalm- 
ist, 'He  that  goeth  forth  and  weepeth,  bearing  precious 
seed,  shall  doubtless  come"  again  with  rejoicing,  bear- 
ing his  sheaves  with  him.' 

"  This  dark  and  yet  joyful  incident  is  here  noted, 
not  because  of  its  peculiarity,  as  there  are  but  few 


240  PASTORAL   LIFE. 


Experience. 


ministers  who  have  not  a  similar  experience,  but  for 
the  purpose  of  bringing  out  a  few  of  the  principles  of 
which  it  is  an  illustration. 

"  The  hiding  of  God's  countenance  is  not  always  de- 
sertion. We  are  backward  in  duty,  we  are  negligent 
in  its  performance,  we  are  self-confident,  we  are  world- 
ly. We  keep  not  the  Lord  always  before  us.  For 
these,  or  for  some  other  sins,  and  for  their  reproof,  God 
may  withdraw  the  light  of  His  countenance ;  and  then 
we  walk  in  darkness,  as  does  the  traveler  at  midnight, 
when  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars  have  withdrawn  their 
shining;  and  on  all  such  occasions  the  people  of  the 
Lord  should  inquire,  'Why  art  thou  cast  down,  O  my 
soul,  and  why  art  thou  disquieted  within  me  ?  Hope 
thou  in  God ;  for  I  shall  yet  praise  Him  who  is  the 
health  of  my  countenance  and  my  God.'  On  due  in- 
quiry, we  will  find  that  no  new  thing  has  happened  to 
us — tliat  a  part  of  God's  dispensations  to  His  people 
is  to  show  them  their  weakness  by  leaving  them  to 
themselves,  and  to  demonstrate  their  constant  need  of 
Him  by  leaving  them  occasionally  to  tread  the  M'eary 
ways  of  life  by  the  light  of  the  sparks  of  their  own 
kindling.  And  we  should  be  careful  how  we  violate 
the  principles  thus  taught  and  sung, 

' ' '  Judge  not  the  Lord  by  feeble  sense, 
But  trust  Ilim  for  His  grace ; 
Behind  a  frowning  providence 
lie  liides  a  smiling  face.' 

"  May  it  not  be  that  ministers  preach  too  little  from 
their  own  varying  experience?  If  truly  good  men, 
their  experience,  in  its  main  outlines,  is  that  of  all  the 


PASTORAL   LIFE.  241 


Preaching. 


Texts. 


Lord's  people.  Preaching  on  doctrines  strengthens 
and  enlightens— on  duties,  stimulates  to  action :  ex- 
hortatory  preaching  may  quicken  the  footsteps  of  the 
indolent ;  but  when  they  preach  from  their  own  deep, 
heartfelt  experience,  and  whether  the  string  they  touch 
gives  forth  notes  of  joy  or  sorrow,  they  find  notes  re- 
sponsive in  the  hearts  of  many  hearers.  The  seat  of  re- 
ligion is  the  heart ;  and  when  they  preach  from  an  ex- 
perience of  the  power  of  the  grace  of  God  in  their  own 
hearts,  they  are  more  likely  to  reach  the  hearts  of  their 
hearers. 

"  May  it  not  be  that  the  unvarying  sameness  which 
has  obtained  in  our  stated  public  and  social  services, 
detracts  from  their  power  and  usefulness  ?  How  often 
do  ministers  hear  least  about  the  preparations  on  which 
they  have  bestowed  most  labor ;  and  most  about  the 
warm,  heartfelt  addresses  made  to  meet  an  emergency, 
and  without  any  previous  preparation !  I  have  often 
observed  that  a  warm,  blundering  man  does  far  more 
for  the  world  than  a  stately,  correct,  and  frigid  one. 
When  we  get  into  the  habit  of  inquiring  on  all  occa- 
sions, great  and  small,  as  to  proprieties  and  expedien- 
cies, life  is  too  often  spent  to  little  purpose.  Nature 
craves  for  variety ;  and  ecclesiology  would  reduce  ev- 
ery thing  to  an  unvarying  form  in  public  and  social 
worship.  Such  forms  of  worship  are  as  unnatural 
as  they  are  injurious.     Sermons  occasionally  without 

texts — sermons  sometimes  without  music  or  prayers 

and  prayers  and  singing  sometimes  without  sermons, 
would  break  in  upon  the  monotony  which  has  almost 
universally  obtained,  and  would,  at  least,  so  far  lead  to 

L 


242  PASTORAL   LIFE. 


Variety. 


awaken  attention  to  the  truth  of  God.  We  would  not 
imitate  the  exam23le  of  the  eccentric  preacher,  who,  on 
seeing  his  hearers  sleeping  around  him,  cried  out '  Fire ! 
Fire!'  and  when  the  aroused  people  asked  'where? 
where?'  replied,  'for  sleeping  souls  in  hell;'  but  we 
would  recommend  a  studied  effort  to  introduce  variety 
into  all  the  services  of  God,  for  the  sake  of  our  com- 
mon humanity,  and  because  of  the  good  which  may 
result." 

This  revival  was  in  the  winter  and  spring  of  1834, 
and  resulted  in  the  addition  of  more  than  sixty  per- 
sons to  the  communion  of  the  Church  ;  and  the  sweet 
influence  of  the  work,  the  pastor  records,  was  felt 
through  the  whole  year. 

An  incident  in  the  month  of  November,  1833,  the 
year  of  his  settlement,  while  pursuing  his  first  regular 
pastoral  visitation,  he  enters  afterward  in  these  words : 

"  On  a  damp  and  chilly  day,  I  went  forth  on  a  pas- 
toral visitation  among  my  people.  As  the  day  was 
drawing  toward  its  close,  I  entered  a  farm-house  wear- 
ing externally  and  internally  an  air  of  comfort.  Every 
thing  was  in  pleasant  preparation  for  my  reception. 
On  either  side  of  a  glowing  fire  sat  the  father  and 
mother  of  the  household,  now  well  advanced  in  years ; 
and  ranged  between  them  were  the  other  members  of 
the  family,  the  youngest  child,  then  a  lad  of  about  fif- 
teen years,  holding  his  catechism  in  his  hand.  He 
could  repeat  it  from  beginning  to  end,  showing  that, 
as  to  the  theory  of  religion,  his  education  was  not  neg- 
lected. I  went  round  the  family  group  conversing 
with  each  as  to_their  personal  interest  in  the  work  of 


PASTORAL   LIFE.  243 


Social  meeting.  Tlie  father. 

Christ  for  the  salvation  of  men.  Every  thing  was  free, 
social,  and  pleasant ;  but  while  with  an  intelligent  un- 
derstanding of  the  plan  of  salvation,  and  while  freely 
admitting  that  there  was  no  way  for  them  to  heaven 
but  through  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  I  found,  to  my  great 
grief,  that  parents  and  children  were  aliens  from  the 
commonwealth  of  Israel.  After  giving  to  each  a  word 
of  instruction  adapted  to  their  circumstances,  and  to 
the  views  expressed  by  them  in  conversation,  we  bow- 
ed together  before  the  high  and  lofty  One ;  and  having 
implored  for  them  all  temporal  and  spiritual  good,  I 
bade  them  farewell. 

"  The  father,  whose  natural  strength  many  years  had 
not  impaired,  and  whose  kind  and  gentle  manners  made 
him  a  favorite  among  his  neighbors,  followed  me  to  the 
door,  and,  closing  it  after  him,  stopped  me  on  the  porch. 
His  countenance  gave  strong  indications  that  there  was 
something  pressing  upon  his  soul  which  he  wished  to 
communicate.  Hoping  that  the  Holy  Spirit  had  bless- 
ed my  visit  to  his  conviction,  I  waited  with  anxiety  to 
hear  what  he  had  to  say.  After  a  considerable  pause, 
taking  me  by  the  hand,  he  thus  addressed  me : 

"  '  I  thank  you  for  this  visit ;  although  the  first  you 
have  made  us,  I  hope  it  will  not  be  the  last.  I  thank 
you  for  all  the  advice  you  have  given  us ;  and  as  you 
have  but  just  commenced  your  labors  among  us  as  a 
minister,  I  wish  to  give  you  a  word  of  advice,  based  on 
my  own  experience.  Let  us  old  people  alone,  for  we 
are  hopeless  subjects,  and  devote  your  labors  to  the 
youth  of  your  flock.  Forty  years  ago,  when  Mr.  Aus- 
tin was  our  pastor,  I  was  greatly  anxious  about  my 


244  PASTORAL   LIFE, 


Through  revival. 


soul.  Many  were  then  converted,  but  I  was  not  one 
of  them.  During  the  ministry  of  Mr.  M 'Do well  I  was 
often  greatly  anxious  about  my  soul — I  went  to  the 
conference  meeting — many  were  converted  in  the  suc- 
cessive revivals  enjoyed,  but  I  was  not  one  of  them. 
And  now,  for  years  that  are  passed,  I  have  not  had  a 
single  feeling  on  the  subject.  I  know  that  I  am  a  lost 
sinner — I  know  that  I  can  be  saved  only  through  Jesus 
Christ — I  feel  persuaded  that  when  I  die  I  shall  go  to 
hell  forever — I  believe  all  you  preach — I  believe  all 
you  have  said  to  me  and  my  family,  but  I  feel  it  no 
more  than  if  I  were  a  block  of  marble ;  and  I  expect 
to  live  and  die  just  as  I  am ;  so  that  my  advice  to  you 
is  to  leave  us  old  people  to  ourselves  and  our  sins,  for 
you  can  not  do  us  much  good,  and  devote  yourself  to 
the  work  of  seeking  the  conversion  of  the  young.' 

"  And  all  this,  and  more,  was  said  with  a  kind  and 
pleasant  bearing,  which  forbade  every  thing  like  sus- 
picion of  his  motives ;  and  yet  with  a  cool  deliberate- 
ness  which  made  me  feel  that  the  man  was  a  mystery. 
After  placing  before  him  the  fullness  of  the  redemption 
which  is  in  Christ  Jesus,  we  parted. 

"  I  remembered  the  incident,  and  watched  the  prog- 
ress of  this  man.  His  scat  was  rarely  vacant  in  the 
sanctuary.  To  hear  the  Word  preached,  he  breasted 
many  a  storm  which  kept  the  professor  of  religion  at 
home.  I  made  him  other  visits ;  and  while  he  admit- 
ted all  I  said,  and  freely  confessed  his  lost  state,  I  nev- 
er witnessed  in  him  the  slightest  ruffle  of  religious  emo- 
tion. He  was  a  true  prophet  of  his  own  fate.  He 
lived  as  he  predicted,  and  so  he  died.     And  we  laid 


PASTORAL   LIFE.  245 


Diea.  No  hope. 

him  down  in  a  hopeless  grave,  after  having  spent  his 
threescore  years  and  ten  without  repentance  toward 
God,  or  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  the  midst  of 
a  congregation  over  which  God  has  often  made  win- 
dows in  heaven." 


246  REV.  DR.  magie's  testimony. 


Itev.  Dr  Magic. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  Faithful  Pastor. — Testimony  by  the  Rev.  David  Magie,  D.D., 
Pastor  of  the  Second  Church. — The  Number  and  Nature  of  Dr. 
Murray's  Labors. — Visits  to  the  Sick  and  Afflicted. — Public  Use- 
fulness.— Untiring  Industry  and  Energy. 

It  occurred  to  me,  while  reviewing  the  pastoral  life 
of  Dr.  Murray,  that  no  one  could  give  a  more  accurate 
and  reliable  view  of  his  habits  and  success  than  the 
venerable  and  beloved  man  who  had  been  pastor  in 
the  same  town  and  by  his  side  during  the  whole  of 
his  residence  in  Elizabeth.  For  more  than  a  quarter 
of  a  century,  Dr.  Magie  had  been  associated  with  Dr. 
Murray  in  kindred  and  common  labors.  Dr.  Magie 
was  pastor  of  the  Second  Church  when  Dr.  Murray 
was  called  to  the  First.  Their  flocks  were  side  by 
side,  and  mingled  during  the  week,  and  often  fed  in 
the  same  pastures  and  by  the  same  waters.  It  was  a 
delicate  matter  to  ask  the  testimony  of  one  so  related 
to  Dr.  Murray  so  long,  but  the  record  will  be  read 
with  admiration  of  the  character  it  portrays,  and  of 
him  who  delights  to  bear  such  testimony  to  the  fidel- 
ity and  success  of  his  neighbor  in  the  ministry.  Dr. 
Magie  writes : 

"  You  ask  me  for  some  memorial  of  Dr.  Murray  as 
a  pastor,  and  I  cheerfully  comply  with  your  request. 

"  More  than  twenty-seven  years  of  labor  side  by 
side  in  the  same  field,  with  our  congregations  inter- 


REV.  DR.  MAGIE's  TESTIMONY.  247 

Side  by  side.  Dr.  M-Dowell. 

mingled,  not  in  the  city  merely,  but  in  every  surround- 
ing neighborhood,  gave  me  the  fullest  opportunity  of 
learning  all  his  plans,  and  marking  his  going  out  and 
coming  in  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  his  minis- 
try here.  No  one  could  know  him  better  as  a  shep- 
herd among  his  flock,  and  I  am  ready  to  testify  that 
he  discharged  his  duty  well  and  faithfully. 

"  The  people  committed  to  his  care  were  numerous, 
and  they  had  been  accustomed  to  see  their  minister 
frequently,  as  well  at  the  fireside  as  in  the  pulpit 
Long  had  it  been  their  habit  to  look  upon  the  man 
who  taught  them  out  of  God's  law  on  the  Sabbath  as 
a  friend  to  whom  they  might  have  ready  access,  and 
who  would  be  a  guide  and  counselor  in  the  various 
scenes  of  daily  religious  life.  His  predecessor,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  John  M'Dowell,  still  living  happily  and  use- 
fully at  the  age  of  upward  of  fourscore,  was  always 
regarded  as  a  model  pastor,  familiar  with  the  families 
of  his  charge,  catechising  the  children,  and  conversing 
with  individuals  of  all  classes  of  society  on  the  subject 
Ox  their  personal  relations  to  God  and  preparation  for 
eternity ;  and  Dr.  Murray  nobly  carried  on  the  same 
blessed  work.  The  period  of  their  labor  here  was 
of  about  the  same  length,  and  very  much  the  same 
indomitable  energy  and  perseverance  characterized 
them  both.  If  the  two  men  differed  in  many  respects, 
and  differ  they  unquestionably  did,  no  one  could  say 
that  the  service,  taken  as  a  whole,  fell  off  in  the  hands 
of  the  latter.  The  Church,  and  congregation  too,  ex- 
pected a  great  deal  from  their  pastor,  and  seldom  had 
they  reason  to  feel  disappointed. 


248  KEY.  DR.  MAGIE'S  TESTIMONY. 

Pystcm.  Amount  of  woik. 

"  Besides  a  regular  weekly  lecture,  for  which  he  pre- 
pared as  punctually  as  for  the  claims  of  the  Sabbath, 
he  delighted  to  be  present  in  the  more  retired  praying 
circle,  and  often  was  he  found  mingling  his  sympa- 
thies and  tears  with  the  afflicted.  So  naturally  did  he 
care  for  the  state  of  his  people  as  to  rejoice  with  those 
that  rejoiced,  and  weep  with  those  that  wept.  Most 
readily  did  he  enter  the  humblest  abode,  to  carry  the 
consolations  of  the  Gospel  to  the  bedside  of  the  sick, 
and  direct  the  thoughts  of  the  dying  to  Him  who  is 
the  resurrection  and  the  life.  It  was  not  difficult  for 
him  to  accommodate  himself  to  such  scenes  of  sadness 
and  sorrow  as  frequently  meet  the  eye  of  the  faithful 
pastor ;  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  some  of  the  sweet- 
est moments  he  ever  spent  on  earth  were  those  in 
which  he  was  occupied  in  speaking  to  departing  saints 
of  another  country,  which  is  a  heavenly.  No  one  can 
estimate  the  amount  of  work  which  he  thus  performed 
in  season  and  out  of  season,  while  watching  for  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  century  over  a  Church  of  between 
five  and  six  hundred  members,  and  a  congregation  of 
upward  of  three  hundred  families.  Few  men  could 
have  done  so  much,  or  done  it  so  well.  Had  he  not 
been  blessed  with  a  remarkable  love  for  his  work  and 
a  naturally  robust  constitution,  he  never  could  have 
borne  the  burdens  so  long  and  with  such  unabated 
exhilaration  of  spirits.  Discouragement  is  a  feeling 
to  which  he  never  seemed  to  give  place — no,  not  for 
an  hour. 

"  It  is  difficult  to  say  whether  he  excelled  more  at 
home  or  abroad ;  in  the  routine  of  weekly  and  dixily 


REV.  DR.  MAGIe'S  TESTIMONY.  249 


duty  among  his  own  people,  or  serving  the  cause  of 
truth  in  a  sphere  of  greater  pubHcity  and  observation. 
Multitudes  knew  him  as  an  earnest,  impressive  speak- 
er, bringing  out  the  great  truths  of  the  Gospel  in  his 
own  nervous  and  pointed  style,  and  invited  him  here 
and  there  to  deliver  addresses  and  preach  ordination 
and  installation  sermons.  Often  was  he  listened  to 
with  delight  as  he  stood  on  the  platform,  and,  with  a 
happy  admixture  of  Irish  wit  and  pleasant  seriousness, 
advocated  the  claims  of  piety  and  benevolence.  And 
the  letters  which  he  sent  out  by  scores  and  hundreds 
through  the  periodical  press  were  read  with  eagerness 
far  and  wide.  His  fellow-citizens,  too,  always  found 
him  prompt  to  take  part  in  plans  for  advancing  the 
moral,  educational,  and  industrial  interests  of  the  place 
where  his  lot  was  cast.  These  things  seemed  enough 
to  fill  the  heart  and  hands  of  an  ordinary  man,  had  he 
never  published  a  book,  made  a  visit  of  condolence  to 
the  house  of  mourning,  or  superintended  the  concerns 
of  a  parish. 

"  If  it  be  asked  how  he  accomplished  so  much,  and 
did  it  so  thoroughly,  the  answer  is  found  in  his  untir- 
ing industry  and  energy.  To  a  resoluteness  of  will, 
never  baffled  or  turned  aside  by  ordinary  obstacles,' 
an  admirably  adjusted  physical  frame,  a  large  flow  of 
the  most  genial  feeling,  deep  and  earnest  conviction 
of  whatever  was  true  and  good,  and  the  constant  pres- 
ence under  his  own  roof  of  one  ready  to  cheer  him  on 
in  his  noble  work,  he  added  a  perseverance  which 
never  gave  way  to  discouragement.  His  motto  seem- 
ed to  be,  Labor  here,  Rest  hereafter.     He  made  full 

L2 


250  KEV.  DR.  MAGIE'S  TESTIMONY. 

llabits  of  study.  GeniaL 

proof  of  the  Christian  ministry,  giving  himself  to  it 
year  in  and  year  out,  as  if  he  could  never  sufficiently 
magnify  his  office.  I  have  seen  many  active,  diligent 
men,  but  I  have  never  seen  one  in  any  walk  of  life 
who  excelled  Dr.  Murray.  Scarcely  was  he  through 
one  undertaking  before  he  entered  upon  another. 
The  text  for  the  next  Sabbath  morning  was  often 
chosen  after  the  close  of  a  third  service  on  the  same 
Sabbath  evening.  Instead  of  letting  his  work  drive 
him,  producing  confusion,  hurry,  and  disorder,  he  al- 
ways drove  his  work,  and  thus  was  able  to  see  his 
way,  and  have  his  mind  clear  and  tranquil.  His  ex- 
ample in  this  respect  is  a  legacy  of  untold  value. 
Were  all  who  deem  themselves  called  to  serve  God  in 
the  Gospel  of  His  Son  to  make  equally  full  proof  of 
their  ministry,  the  happy  effect  would  appear  in  the 
strength  and  permanence  of  the  ties  which  bind  pastor 
and  flock  together. 

"  To  those  who  knew  him  at  all,  it  is  superfluous  to 
remark  that  there  was  nothing  of  the  recluse  in  his 
nature ;  nor  was  he  insensible  to  the  claims  of  social 
life.  Seldom  did  he  find  himself  so  pressed  with  busi- 
ness that  he  could  not  spare  half  an  hour  for  a  friend, 
or  give  an  evening  to  a  pleasant  gathering  of  neigh- 
bors, or  take  a  few  days  for  recreation  at  a  sjDring  side 
or  on  a  mountain  top.  In  his  hands,  the  bow  carried 
the  arrow  to  its  mark  all  the  better  for  being  occasion- 
ally unbent.  No  ability  which  he  possessed  of  mak- 
ing an  impression  by  unstudied  efforts  ever  led  him 
to  dispense,  whenever  it  was  practicable,  with  careful 
previous  preparation.     If  ever  his  reproofs  took  on 


REV.  DR.  MAGIE's  TESTIMONY.  251 


^°°''''- Tact  and  boldneas. 

them  the  form  of  cutting,  biting  sarcasm,  as  withering 
as  an  autumnal  frost,  it  was  when  compelled  to  listen 
to  the  empty,  jejune  deliverances  of  preachers  who 
think  themselves  smart  enough  to  bring  something 
out  when  nothing  has  been  put  in, 

"  Much  of  his  power  to  gain  the  affections  of  his 
people  so  fully,  and  hold  them  so  long,  consisted  no 
doubt  in  the  cheerful  smile  he  wore,  and  the  friend- 
ly greeting  he  gave,  meet  them  when  and  where  he 
might.     His  genial  spirit  was  delightfully  contagious. 
It  was  difficult  to  be  gloomy  or  downcast  in  his  pres- 
ence.    Few  men  are  able,  in  an  equal  degree,  to  make 
themselves  agreeable  to  all  classes,  old  and  young,  rich 
and  poor,  educated  and  uneducated.     There  was  a 
certain  something  about  him,  in  the  twinkle  of  his 
eye,  the  shake  of  his  head,  and  the  tones  of  his  voice, 
which  could  scarcely  be  resisted.     If  severity  seemed 
necessary,  nobody  could  be  more  severe ;  or  if  bland- 
ness  and  condescension  would  do  better,  they  were  al- 
ways at  hand.     When  he  undertook  to  carry  a  point, 
few  had  tact  or  boldness  enough  to  interpose  any  ef- 
fectual resistance.     Head  of  the  congregation  he  felt 
that  he  ought  to  be,  and  would  be,  and,  as  such,  he 
expected  to  be  treated  with  all  proper  tokens  of  def- 
erence  and  respect,  every  where   and  at  all  times. 
There  are  prerogatives  of  office  and  position  which  he 
would  never  relinquish.     Nobody  knew  better  than 
he  how  to  pour  contempt  upon  religious  nostrums  of 
every  sort,  or  send  the  pseudo-reformer  from  the  door 
in  disgrace.     Yet  it  is  but  justice  to  add,  he  had  the 
wisdom  to  reach  and  maintain  this  eminence  in  a  way 


252  REV.  DR.  magie's  testimony. 

Lamentation.  Funeral. 

which  generally  left  well-meaning  people  entirely  sat- 
isfied with  themselves.  They  felt  that  their  pastor 
was  a  man  of  talent  and  great  force  of  character,  and 
it  was  easy  for  them  to  yield  to  his  sway. 

"  No  wonder  that  great  lamentation  was  made  over 
him  when  he  so  suddenly  and  unexpectedly  was  taken 
away.  No  one  seemed  to  realize  that  the  hale,  firm- 
stepping  Dr.  Murray  was  mortal.  That  he  should 
bury  others  was  expected,  but  that  they  should  bury 
him  was  unthought  of.  The  old  men  looked  back, 
with  mingled  emotions  of  joy  and  sorrow,  to  the  time 
when  they  summoned  him  from  his  remote  inland 
charge  to  take  the  oversight  of  them  in  the  Lord; 
the  middle-aged,  only  a  little  behind  him  in  the  race 
of  life,  were  proud  of  the  position  he  held  in  the 
Church,  and  sad  that  they  now  should  see  his  face  no 
more ;  while  the  young,  whom  he  had  baptized,  dan- 
dled on  his  knees,  and  led  forward  year  by  year  with 
scarcely  less  than  a  father's  care,  felt  that  they  had 
lost  a  friend,  in  whose  animating  and  guiding  voice 
they  had  learned  to  trust  with  unshaken  confidence. 

"  The  day  that  witnessed  the  burial  of  such  a  pas- 
tor, combining  so  many  excellences  of  head  and  heart, 
and  so  identified  with  his  people  in  every  thing  excel- 
lent, and  lovely,  and  of  good  report,  can  not  soon  be 
forgotten." 

It  has  been  often  said,  if  there  was  any  one  trait 
of  ministerial  character  in  which  Dr.  Murray  excelled, 
it  was  his  deep  and  tender  appreciation  of  the  trials 
of  his  people.  The  intemperate  husband,  the  erring 
child,  were  watched  over  and  often  restored  to  the 


REV.  DR.  MAGIE's   TESTIMONY.  253 


^"^^°""-  Rev.  Mr.  Cory. 


domestic  circle.  In  his  private  portfolio  were  found 
many  pledges  solemnly  made  in  his  study,  and  signed 
after  evidence  of  penitence  and  prayer  by  persons 
some  of  whom  were,  through  his  instrumentality,  re- 
stored to  usefulness  and  respectability.  In  the  cham- 
ber of  sickness,  by  the  bed  of  death,  he  was  at  home. 
The  hearts  of  all  opened  to  him  as  he  entered  with 
noiseless  tread,  and  in  sweet,  gentle  tones  addressed 
them  on  the  love  of  Christ.  His  visits  were  brief  but 
frequent,  and  in  cases  of  long-protracted  illness  looked 
for  as  regularly  as  were  those  of  the  physician.  A 
letter  from  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Cory,  whose  family, 
while  members  of  Dr.  Murray's  congregation,  were 
deeply  afflicted,  is  but  one  of  the  many  expressions 
of  grateful  remembrance  made  to  his  services  in  sea- 
sons of  sorrow  and  bereavement : 

"Elizabeth,  January  28th,  1862. 

"  My  dear  Mrs.  Murray,— As  a  testimony  of  my 
ever-affectionate  remembrance  of  your  lamented  hus- 
band, you  will  allow  me  to  hand  you  this  brief  sketch 
of  what  I  knew  him  to  be  as  a  visitor  at  the  habita- 
tions of  affliction  and  mourning. 

"  As  my  own  family  has  been  visited  once,  twice, 
yea,  thrice,  by  painful  bereavements,  and  as  on  each 
of  those  occasions  Dr.  Murray  was  with  us  and  offici- 
ated, I  feel  that  I  can  speak  from  experience  upon  this 
subject.  Never  shall  we  forget  his  kind  attentions, 
his  warm  sympathy,  his  earnest  prayers,  his  precious 
words  of  consolation  in  our  behalf  during  those  try- 
ing seasons  of  our  adversity.  He  was,  indeed,  all  that 
we  could  desire  in  a  Christian  pastor. 


254  EEV.  DR.  magie's  testimony. 


"Nor  are  we  alone  in  such  testimony.  Others,  I 
find,  who  have  been  in  similar  circumstances,  evidence 
to  the  same  thing.  Wherever  I  visit  among  the  peo- 
ple whom  he  served  for  so  many  years  in  the  labors 
of  the  Gospel,  I  find  he  has  left  his  impress  upon  them 
in  this  particular ;  nor  will  it  be  easy  to  erase  it.  Fre- 
quently have  I  heard  mourners  express  themselves  in 
this  way :  '  Oh  how  good  Dr.  Murray  was  in  seasons 
of  afiiiction !'  'how  attentive  he  was  to  the  sick !'  '  how 
excellent  he  always  was  on  funeral  occasions  1' 

"  In  this  ixirticular  feature  of  pastoral  services  Dr. 
Murray  was  certainly  pre-eminent.  While  he  meant 
to  overlook  none  of  the  families  of  his  flock,  he  was 
specially  attentive  to  mourning  households.  There  was 
great  faithfulness,  great  painstaking  in  his  endeavors 
to  serve  such;  and  lest,  through  ignorance  of  their 
affliction,  he  might  fail  to  visit  them  at  the  time,  he 
would  urge  his  people  not  to  hesitate  to  send  for  him, 
or  inform  him  in  some  way  of  the  fact. 

"  He  had  often  been  called  to  drink  of  the  cup  of 
sorrow  himself,  and  hence  he  well  knew  how  to  com- 
fort others  with  the  comforts  with  which  he  himself 
was  comforted  of  God.  As  he  was  a  '  Son  of  Thun- 
der' whenever  the  occasion  called  for  it,  so  he  was  a 
'  Son  of  Consolation'  to  the  mourning.  He  was  often 
tender  to  weeping;  he  seemed  to  be  afflicted  in  the 
affliction  of  those  who  were  called  to  drink  of  the  cup 
of  suffering  and  sorrow.  As  a  pastor,  in  respect  to 
tenderness  and  sympathy  in  behalf  of  the  afflicted,  1 
can  with  propriety  say  that  Dr.  Murray  left  no  supe- 
rior, and  but  few  equals  behind  him." 


DK.  MUKRAY  AS  A  PRESBYTER.  255 

Kev.  Mr.  Sheddan.  Letter. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

In  the  Presbytery. — The  Synod. — The  General  Assembly. — Sketch 
of  Dr.  Mun-ay  in  Ecclesiastical  Life,  by  Rev.  S.  S.  Sheddan,  of 
Eahway,  N.  J.,  a  co-Presbyter,  in  a  Letter  to  the  Author. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Sheddan,  of  Rahway,  the  town  ad- 
joming  Elizabeth,  writes  in  such  words  as  these : 

"Reverend  and  dear  Brother, — In  sketching 
any  of  Dr.  Murray's  characteristics,  you  will  appreci- 
ate the  remark  that  he  owed  his  commanding  position 
to  no  one  trait  of  character  nor  power  of  mind.  Na- 
ture had  not  been  sparing  in  her  mental  endowments, 
and  they  were  well-adjusted;  but  it  was  no  distorted 
faculty,  but  a  happy  combination  of  all,  that  made 
him  a  man  of  mark. 

"Because  of  this  native  equipoise  of  mind,  and  a 
rule  of  his  life  that '  what  was  worth  doing  was  worth 
doing  well,'  it  were  difficult  to  say  what  was  his  forte. 

"  His  energy,  his  large-heartedness,  and  his  system- 
atic working,  developed  with  an  uncommon  harmony 
all  his  powers,  and  made  him  great.  He  was  equally 
the  preacher  and  the  pastor,  the  polemic  and  the  pres- 
byter. His  greatest  admirers  may  admit  that  in  each 
of  these  departments  he  had  his  equals ;  but  all  of 
these,  to  the  same  degree  blending  with  high  social 
qualities,  and  the  activities  prompted  by  a  generous 
heart,  have  been  rarely  so  combined  in  the  same 
person. 

"  He  took  high  position  in  all  these  varied  positions, 


256  DR.  MURRAY  AS   A   PRESBYTER. 

Punctuality.  In  Synod. 

because  his  energy,  his  systematic  arrangement,  and 
diligence  accompanied  him  in  every  duty.  Those 
traits  of  nature  and  habits  of  life  had  much  to  do  in 
making  him  a  noted,  and,  in  some  respects,  a  model 
presbyter. 

"Dr.  Murray  leaves  a  record,  as  to  punctual  attend- 
ance upon  our  ecclesiastical  courts,  that  is  honoring  to 
him,  and  is  a  worthy  example  to  others.  His  connec- 
tion was  always  with  the  New  Jersey  Synod,  In- 
stalled as  pastor  of  the  churches  of  Wilkesbarre  and 
Kingston  in  November,  1829,  he  first  appeared  in  Syn- 
od in  1830  as  a  member  of  the  Presbytery  of  Susque- 
hanna. His  pastoral  relation  to  those  churches  was 
dissolved  June  26th,  1833,  and  on  June  23d  he  was 
received  by  the  Presbytery  of  Elizabethtown,  and  in- 
stalled pastor  of  the  First  Church  of  Elizabeth. 

"His  synodical  life  was  thirty  years.  During  his 
connection  with  Synod,  from  the  year  1830  to  1860, 
both  included,  he  was  not  once  absent  from  the  ses- 
sions of  that  body ;  whether  those  sessions  were  held 
in  West  Jersey  or  in  the  mountains  of  Pennsylvania, 
he  was  always  present.  Except  our  worthy  stated 
clerk,  Eev.  R.  K.  Rodgers,  D.D.,  Dr.  Murray  was  the 
only  man,  according  to  our  records,  of  whom  it  could 
be  said  that  during  that  generation  of  years  he  was 
not  once  absent  from  Synod.  The  records  give  the 
farther  good  testimony  that  but  twice  did  he  appear 
late,  and  that  he  always  remained  until  the  sessions 
were  closed. 

"  The  records  of  Presbytery  will  equally  testify  to 
his  promptness  and  punctuality,  he  being  only  absent 


DR.  MURRAY  AS  A  PRESBYTER.  257 

Sense  of  duty.  Cordiality. 

when  visiting  Europe,  and  from  the  fall  meeting  of 
1860  because  of  indisposition.  This  remarkable  faith- 
fulness is  almost  as  marked  in  the  called  meetings 
of  Presbytery,  when  he  might  often  have  pleaded  the 
business  is  a  mere  formality,  and  his  many  other  du- 
ties were  pressing. 

"  The  advice  he  gave  to  another  was  undoubtedly 
his  own  rule:  'Make  it  a  matter  of  conscience  to  at- 
tend the  meetings  of  Presbytery  and  Synod.'  He 
either  shaped  or  sacrificed  other  duties  and  pleasures 
that  he  might  be  faithful  to  the  ecclesiastical  courts, 
there  at  the  opening  and  at  the  close  of  the  sessions. 
In  this  respect  our  Brother  Murray  was  a  model. 

"With  him  it  was  not  a  stern  duty;  he  loved  the 
meetings  of  his  brethren.  He  enjoyed  much  both  the 
fraternal  and  religious  character  of  our  Church  courts. 

"  He  may  have  been  drawn  to  like-minded  breth- 
ren, but  he  had  a  cordial  greeting  for  all.  As  his 
years  were  putting  him  among  the  fathers,  it  seemed 
more  his  pleasure  to  give  every  one  the  fraternal 
grasp,  and  it  was  doubtful  if  any  left  Presbytery  say- 
ing 'Dr.  Murray  did  not  speak  to  me:'  a  little  act 
of  kindness,  but  more  encouraging  to  the  younger 
members  than  the  fathers  think.  His  was  a  cordial 
greeting,  not  the  chilling  two  fingers  and  a  heartless 
word,  while  the  eye  looked  for  another.  It  was  the 
warm  greeting  of  his  heart,  which  did  him  good  and 
others  felt.  And  many  a  young  man  in  the  ministry 
was  encouraged  by  his  hearty  inquiries  and  words  of 
cheer. 

"Even  the  casual  observer  must  have  remarked 


258  DR.  MURRAY  AS  A   PRESBYTER. 

A  working  luan.  Installation. 

with  what  interest  he  heard  each  brother  speak  of  the 
state  of  religion  in  his  charge.  He  so  identified  him- 
self with  the  churches  of  Presbytery  and  with  his 
brethren,  that  I  can  recall  in  my  ministerial  life  none 
more  intently  hearing  the  free  conversation  upon  the 
state  of  religion  than  he  was;  and  none  more  constant 
upon  the  devotional  exercises,  and  by  his  exhorta- 
tions and  adapted  prayers  adding  greatly  to  their  in- 
terest. At  such  times  all  liked  to  hear  him  speak 
and  have  him  pray. 

"  Dr.  Murray  was  truly  a  working  presbyter.  His 
nature  and  his  habits  made  him  a  stranger  to  the  art 
of  saving  himself  In  all  ecclesiastical  duties  he  very 
implicitly  obeyed  his  brethren  in  the  Lord.  His  early 
life  taught  him  to  think  and  act  for  himself,  and  gave 
him  a  maturity  that  fitted  him  for  an  early  promi- 
nence among  his  brethren.  His  name  soon  holds  the 
place  of  an  honored  and  efficient  member  of  our 
Church  courts.  With  his  willing  spirit,  there  was  a 
promptness,  and  diligence,  and  a  power  to  perform, 
that  gave  him  a  frequent  place  in  important  commit- 
tees, in  preaching  before  Presbytery,  and  in  installa- 
tion services.  The  frequency  of  these  things^  is  a  me- 
morial of  his  fitness,  and  how  acceptable  he  was  to  his 
brethren  and  the  churches.  The  frequent  question,  so 
often  asked,  '  Can  there  be  no  installation  without  Dr. 
Murray?'  as  often  attested  his  popularity.  So  fre- 
quently was  he  called,  far  and  near,  to  the  dedication 
of  churches,  as  to  suggest  the  contrast,  the  bottles  of 
papal  chrism  he  broke,  and  the  consecrations  he  per- 
formed. 


DR.  MURRAY   AS   A   PRESBYTER.  259 

A  jurist.  Sympathies. 

"  lie  rarely  excused  liimself  from  duties  assigned 
him  by  Presbytery  because  overtasked.  If  he  ex- 
cused himself,  it  was  not  so  much  for  saving  self  as  to 
preserve  the  parity  of  the  ministry,  or  to  draw  out  and 
honor  others. 

"When  he  had  been  a  few  years  in  Synod  he  was 
elected  moderator;  and  in  1849,  the  twentieth  year  of 
his  ministry,  he  was  chosen  moderator  of  the  General 
Assembly. 

"As  an  ecclesiastical  jurist,  others  may  have  equal- 
ed or  surpassed  Dr.  Murray.  His  feelings  were  too 
generous,  and  his  views  too  comprehensive,  to  allow 
him  to  be  a  stickler  for  the  mere  letter  of  the  law,  or 
to  be  an  adept  in  knotty  points.  He  studied  more 
the  spirit  than  the  letter  of  the  law ;  and  he  weighed 
points  more  by  the  question  of  right  than  to  make  a 
thing  right  by  skillful  construction  or  collocation  of 
chapters  and  sections.  He  belonged  to  the  court  of 
equity  rather  than  of  technicalities. 

"  With  his  natural  warm-heartedness  there  must  be 
strong  sympathies ;  yet  personal  sympathy  would  not 
prevail  over  a  sense  of  right.  Two  important  cases 
fell  under  my  notice,  where  I  know  intimate  friend- 
ships and  personal  endearments  were  on  the  side  he 
felt  constrained  as  a  presbyter  to  oppose. 

"Young  ministers,  licentiates,  and  candidates  have 
lost  a  friend.  The  heart  and  position  of  Dr.  Murray 
made  him  important  to  such.  Our  young  men  turned 
to  him  for  advice  as  to  location  and  in  the  straits  of 
their  novitiate.  His  personal  intercourse  and  corre- 
spondence with  such  were  cheerful  and  prompt,  al- 


260  DR.  MURRAY   AS   A   PRESBYTER. 

Habits  of  speaking.  Kindliness. 

tliougli  so  extensive  as  to  draw  heavily  upon  his  time. 
He  was  truly  a  friend  to  the  young  ministry.  He 
sought  out  and  encouraged  candidates;  and  many 
sought  an  introduction  to  Presbytery  through  him. 

"  His  early  self-reliance,  his  brevity,  and  sometimes 
curtness  of  speech,  his  ready  repartee,  and  the  humor 
of  his  nativity,  may  have  led  some  to  undervalue  his 
comity  as  a  presbyter.  Whatever,  at  times,  may  have 
been  the  abruptness,  or  even  severity  of  his  remarks, 
all  who  knew  him  well  will  testify  that  it  was  only  in 
the  form,  and  not  in  the  spirit.  To  what  he  thought 
littleness  or  wrong  he  might  utter  a  telling  rebuke, 
followed  as  quickly  by  his  cordial  sympathies  to  the 
hurt,  or  confessing  one.  Those  who  knew  him  only 
in  the  ecclesiastical  forum  might  not  do  justice  to 
his  heart.  His  succinct  phrases,  his  humor,  his  quick 
reply,  with  illustration  by  anecdotes,  might  fall  as 
wounding  arrows,  but  they  never  came  from  a  pois- 
oned quiver.  In  no  place  did  his  curtness  of  speech 
and  uncomfortable  anecdotes  so  prevail  as  in  debate. 
This  was  but  an  element  showing  his  nativity — one 
strongly  inherent,  and  which  he  used  chiefly  .in  play- 
fulness, and  which  in  later  years  was  greatly  subdued. 

"  None  more  kindly  felt  for  his  brethren  than  he. 
As  a  young  man  he  revered  the  aged,  and  as  a  father 
he  was  kind  to  the  young  men.  Yet  it  was  so  natu- 
ral in  him,  that  it  was  an  effort  to  withhold  the  repar- 
tee. An  example  may  show  this,  and  the  independ- 
ent thinking  of  his  younger  days.  He  brought  some 
measure  before  Presbytery  which  a  father  of  patri- 
archal name  opposed,  with  a  reflection  upon  youth ; 


DR.  MURRAY   AS   A   PRESBYTER.  261 


Humors. 


A  Presbyterian. 


at  once  young  Murray  replied:  'No  more  of  that;  I 
am  young,  but  not  willing  to  be  taken  to  the  bosom 
of  Father  Abraham !' 

"Such  quick  and  apt  responses  were  indigenous; 
not  of  the  corrupt  heart,  but  of  the  mental  structure! 
They  were  Murrayisms ;  but,  so  far  as  they  were  se- 
vere, they  were  not  the  issues  of  the  heart.  I  refer  to 
these  things  to  correct  misapprehensions  that  may  ex- 
ist with  some  who  only  knew  him  in  the  forensic 
phase  of  character.  This  playful  severity  of  debate 
was  no  more  the  heart  of  our  dear  brother  than  a  rip- 
ple made  by  the  breeze  is  the  deep,  pure  water  beneath. 

"  Dr.  Murray  was  a  Presbyterian,  but  no  bigot.  He 
was  an  earnest  lover  of  the  order  and  doctrine  of  our 
Church ;  tenacious  of  the  weightier  matters,  but  not  a 
stickler  on  minor  points.  Nine  years  of  intimate  ac- 
quaintance authorize  the  remark  that  he  was  tolerant 
to  those  who  honestly  and  fraternally  differed,  but  in- 
tolerant to  the  exclusive.  He  loved  his  own  denomi- 
national home,  and  held  large  fellowship  with  those 
of  different  name;  but  he  had  no  patience  with  that 
spirit  that  ignored  all  Church  existence  but  its  own. 
For  such  he  had  no  gentle  phrases,  and  this  some  tor- 
tured into  bigotry.  And  it  had  its  influence  ^until 
corrected  by  closer  acquaintance. 

"He  heartily  bid  God-speed  to  every  man  who 
preached  Christ,  and  cheerfully  hailed  such  as  co-la- 
borers. That  largely  fraternal  spirit  became  more 
marked  with  his  years,  and  was  perfectly  consistent 
with  the  remark  he  made  in  substance  to  me  in  his 
study :  '  With  growing  years,  experience,  and  observ- 


262  DR.  MURRAY  AS  A  PRESBYTER. 

His  loss.  His  work  done. 

ation,  I  admire  and  love,  more  and  more,  our  system 
of  doctrine  and  form  of  government.' 

"  The  Presbytery  has  lost  a  most  efficient  and  ge- 
nial member.  For  nearly  thirty  years  in  the  Eliza- 
bethtown  Presbytery ;  his  seat  rarely  vacant ;  honor- 
ed and  loved  by  his  brethren;  none  more  quick  to 
mingle  his  sympathies  with  a  tried  brother;  none 
more  quick  to  enter  into  the  personal  and  pastoral 
joys  of  another. 

"Our  ecclesiastical  records  are  his  witnesses  that 
he  was  a  faithful  and  working  presbyter;  and  those 
pages  confirm  the  living  record  upon  our  hearts  how 
acceptable  he  was  as  a  leader  in  our  devotions.  Sad 
thought :  we  shall  see  him  and  hear  him  no  more ! 

"  For  some  time  past  we  marked  in  Presbytery  his 
growing  spirituality,  and  felt  that  he  gave  us  an  in- 
creased stimulus  in  our  devotional  exercises  and  pas- 
toral duties.  He  was  ripening  then,  but  our  eyes  were 
holden  that  we  did  not  see  it.  He  knew  it  not,  but  he 
worked  as  one  whose  time  was  short,  and  with  his  in- 
creased diligence  there  was  a  corresjDonding  gentleness 
of  spirit  and  heart-desire  to  do  good. 

"  His  closing  presbyterial  life  leaves  endearing  rec- 
ollections as  we  mourn,  that  in  our  body  and  in  his 
wide  sphere  his  work  is  done. 

" No  one  can  wear  his  mantle;  we  must  divide  his 
duties.  In  that  his  race  is  run  we  mourn  our  loss,  but 
rejoice  that  he  has  received  his  crown  of  life. 

"  His  life  and  influence  will  be  with  us  as  hallowed 
and  stimulating  memories,  and  his  death  will  remind 
us,  Work  '  while  it  is  day,'  so  that  when  '  the  night 
cometh,'  we  may  each  say,  'My  work  is  done.'  " 


DR.  MURRAY  AS  AN  AUTHOR.  263 


First  essay.  College  papers. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Dr.  Murray  as  an  Author.— Early  Eflforts.— At  "Wilkesbarre.— Origin 
of  the  Kirwan  Letters.— Sketch  of  Bishop  Hughes.— Systematic 
Preparation  for  the  Discussion.— Effect  of  it.— Popularity  of  the 
Letters.— Calls  for  more.— Other  Series.— Oral  Discussion. 

The  first  essay  of  Dr.  Murray  to  write  for  the  press, 
of  which  we  have  any  knowledge,  was  made  while  he 
was  a  student  in  college.  That  his  early  employment 
in  a  printing-office  had  directed  his  attention  to  the 
field  of  authorship,  and  stimulated  him  to  efforts  in 
'  that  line  of  distinction  and  usefulness,  there  can  be 
little  doubt.  In  that  business  he  also  acquired  those 
habits  of  precision  and  method  that  marked  his  labors 
in  future  years. 

Among  his  manuscripts  we  find  copies  of  papers 
prepared  while  in  college  for  the  press,  some  of  which 
we  know  were  published,  and  others  were,  perhaps, 
never  sent  away  for  that  purpose.  It  is  certainly  re- 
markable that  a  youth  who  had  devoted  less  than  a 
year  to  studies  in  preparation  for  college,  having  had 
but  common  education  in  boyhood,  should  so  soon 
enter  the  lists  as  a  writer  for  the  press,  and  especially 
as  a  controversial  writer.  The  first  essay  that  we  find 
as  coming  from  his  pen,  and  all  the  early  pieces  that 
he  has  left  among  his  old  manuscripts,  are  tinged  with 
the  caustic  wit  and  satire,  as  well  as  the  genial  humor 
and  sparkling  vivacity,  that  grew  with  his  growth,  till 
they  became  the  features  of  his  composition  which 


264  DR.  MURRAY  AS  AN  AUTHOR. 

Christian  Advocate.  Newspapers. 

made  him  so  distinguished  among  the  religious  authors 
of  his  age. 

While  he  was  settled  at  Wilkesbarre  he  wrote  a 
series  of  articles  on  the  measures  and  doctrines  of  the 
Methodists  in  the  Yalley  of  Wyoming.  These  were 
published  in  the  monthly  magazine,  edited  by  the 
Eev.  Dr.  Green,  in  Philadelphia,  and  called  the  Chris- 
tian Advocate.  This  periodical  was  a  power  in  its 
day.  Devoted  primarily  to  the  defense  of  the  Cal  vin- 
istic  doctrine  and  the  promotion  of  evangelical  truth, 
it  was  supported  by  the  best  productions  of  the  best 
minds  in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  it  made  its 
mark.  The  appearance  in  this  periodical  of  the  arti- 
cles written  by  Mr.  Murray  to  which  we  refer,  imme- 
diately arrested  the  attention  of  leading  men  in  the 
Methodist  Church.  A  deputation  waited  upon  Dr. 
Green,  the  editor,  and  demanded  the  name  of  the  au- 
thor. This  the  venerable  editor  declined  to  give,  but 
he  assured  the  gentlemen  that  his  confidence  in  the 
correctness  of  all  the  facts  alleged  was  such  that  he 
would  assume  the  responsibility  of  the  statements  as 
his  own,  and  they  could  deal  with  him  and  them  ac- 
cordingly. He  then  wrote  to  Mr.  Murray  to  fortify 
himself  with  the  most  abundant  proof  of  every  thing 
he  had  or  should  set  forth,  and  the  series  was  contin- 
ued with  great  vigor  and  effect. 

Beyond  occasional  articles  in  the  newspapers,  secu- 
lar and  religious,  we  have  no  evidence  that  he  made 
any  contributions  to  the  press  until  the  appearance  of 
his  letters  to  Bishop  Hughes.  He  had  now  been  set- 
tled in  Elizabethtown  fourteen  years,  and  had  reached 


DR.  MURRAY   AS   AN   AUTHOR.  265 


Preparation. ^^^     Kii-wan  Letters. 

the  forty -seventh  year  of  his  age.  In  the  maturity  of 
his  powers,  and  firmly  established  in  his  charge,  he 
looked  back  with  painful  solicitude  upon  the  Church 
of  his  fathers  and  his  youth,  and  his  soul  yearned  as 
did  the  soul  of  the  apostle  for  his  brethren,  his  kins- 
men according  to  the  flesh,  who  were  yet  under  the 
bondage  of  Eome.  With  an  earnestness  of  purpose 
and  intensity  of  zeal  that  few  can  understand  and  ap- 
preciate, he  resolved  to  make  one  effort  to  open  the 
eyes  of  his  countrymen  and  his  former  brethren  to 
the  danger  of  the  error's  by  which  they  were  led  cap- 
tive, and,  with  God's  good  help,  to  deliver  them.  We 
have  the  means  of  knowing  that  he  set  himself  at  this 
work  with  prayerful  deliberation,  and  pursued  it 
through  months  and  years  of  most  laborious  study. 
Before  putting  pen  to  paper,  he  unfolded  to  me  the 
plan  and  purpose  of  his  work,  and  the  feelings  with 
which  he  was  impelled  to  its  execution.  I  urged  him 
to  go  forward,  aided  him  in  finding  the  books  that  he 
needed  to  substantiate  his  positions,  and  begged  him 
not  to  allow  any  thing  to  divert  him  from  the  holy 
purpose  he  had  formed. 

It  was  soon  determined  that  his  work  should  take 
the  form  of  a  series  of  articles  in  the  New  York  Ob- 
server, and  for  the  purpose  of  more  immediately  secur- 
ing attention,  and  giving  them  the  additional  zest  of 
personal  correspondence,  that  they  should  be  address- 
ed as  letters  to  the  Et.  Eev.  John  Hughes,  D.D.,  Bishop 
of  New  York.  His  reasons  for  selecting  this  prelate 
as  his  correspondent  are  assigned  in  the  first  letter, 
which  opens  in  these  words : 

M 


266  DK.  MURRAY  AS  AN  AUTHOR, 

To  Bishop  Hughes.  Reasons. 

"My  dear  Sir, — Although  an  entire  stranger  to 
you,  I  have  felt  for  many  years  greatly  interested  in 
your  history  and  doings,  and  for  the  following  reasons : 

"  You  are  the  chief  pastor  of  a  very  important  por- 
tion of  the  Eoman  Catholic  Church  in  this  country,  and 
your  ecclesiastical  position  makes  you  emphatically  a 
public  man.  If  a  bishop  in  Mexico  or  Missouri,  like 
many  mitred  priests,  you  might  live  unknown  to  fame ; 
but  as  the  papal  bishop  of  the  commercial  metropolis 
of  the  Western  World,  and  of  the  most  populous  and 
wealthy  diocese  of  your  Church  in  the  United  States, 
this  could  not  be  expected.  Position,  you  know,  has 
much  to  do  with  our  public  character.  It  sometimes 
gives,  even  to  weak  and  bad  men,  an  importance  out 
of  all  proportion  to  their  merits. 

"But,  in  addition  to  your  position,  which  is  one  of 
high  influence,  you  possess  the  requisite  qualifications 
to  fill  it.  This  is  confessed  by  your  most  ardent  op- 
ponents. By  your  genius,  tact,  and  eloquence  —  by 
your  sleepless  devotion  to  the  duties  of  your  calling, 
you  have  obtained  a  position  in  the  very  first  rank  of 
the  ecclesiastics  of  your  Church ;  and,  without  saying 
very  much,  this  is  saying  considerable. 

"Besides,  at  whatever  odds,  3^ou  have  fought  like  a 
man  with  all  your  opponents.  In  controversies,  relig- 
ious and  political,  you  have  not  shunned  the  hall  of 
debate,  nor  discussion  through  the  press.  You  have 
taken  your  positions  adroitly,  and  you  have  defended 
them  with  remarkable  skill ;  and  even  when  convinced 
of  the  utter  fallacy  of  your  positions  and  defenses,  I 
have  yet  sympathized  with  your  manly  firmness.     It 


DR.  MURRAY  AS  AN  AUTHOR.  267 

Self-made.  Intelligent 

is  in  human  nature  to  respect  the  man  that,  with  an 
earnest  soul,  contends  for  what  he  esteems  right ;  and 
I  must  confess  that,  as  to  some  things,  when  the  pub- 
lic voice  was  against  you,  your  course  met  with  my 
approbation. 

"  Besides,  if  public  rumor  is  worthy  of  belief,  you 
have  raised  yourself  into  your  present  position  by  the 
force  of  your  talents  and  character,  from  a  social  posi- 
tion comparatively  humble.  To  me  this  is  not  the 
least  of  the  reasons  why  I  have  felt  interested  in  your 
career.  The  men  of  our  race  have  been  what  is  com- 
monly called  self-made  men.  The  '  Heroes  in  History' 
have  been  nearly  all  such.  It  requires  high  attributes, 
both  of  mind  and  soul,  to  rise  above  the  disadvantages 
of  family  and  fortune,  and  to  take  precedence  of  those 
who  would  fain  believe  that  birth  and  wealth  give  a 
patent-right  to  the  high  places  of  influence.  Your  past 
history,  unless  I  misunderstand  it,  must  have  had  a 
liberalizing  influence  upon  you.  You  must  look  at 
things  on  a  larger  and  wider  scale,  and  through  a 
clearer  medium,  than  if  you  had  been  cradled  in  crim- 
son and  educated  in  a  convent.  You  know  the  dis- 
tinction between  prejudice  and  principle  —  between 
what  is  entitled  to  belief  and  what  we  have  been  edu- 
cated to  believe — between  what  is  truly  reasonable 
and  what  is  ecclesiastically  so ;  and  I  therefore  address 
myself  to  you  with  a  confidence  far  stronger,  that  what 
I  shall  say  kindly  and  truly  will  be  kindly  and  truly 
weighed,  than  if  I  addressed  myself  to  a  priest  from 
Maynooth  or  Saint  Omer,  educated  merely  in  the  liter- 
ature of  legends  and  liturgies,  and  whose  mind  only  pos- 


268  DE.  MURRAY  AS  AN  AUTHOR. 

An  Irishinan.  Pushing. 

sessed  "what  was  distilled  into  it  from  otliers.  About 
sucli  stupid,  sluggish  minds  you  must,  by  this  time, 
know  something.  I  shall  address  you  not  merely  as  a 
priest  or  bishop,  but  as  a  high-minded  and  well-educa- 
ted gentleman. 

"  Permit  me  to  say  that  there  is  yet  another  reason 
why  I  have  felt  interested  in  your  career.  You  were 
born  in  Ireland — that  land  of  noble  spirits  and  of  warm 
hearts — that  sweetest  isle  of  the  ocean ;  and  so  was  I. 
We  are  natives  of  the  same  soil ;  and  although  in  prin- 
ciple, by  education,  and  in  all  my  feelings  thoroughly 
American,  yet  I  take  a  great  pride  in  the  high  achieve- 
ments of  native  Irishmen.  America  has  had  its  Mont- 
gomeries,  its  Clintons,  its  Emmetts,  its  Porters,  its 
Brackenridges,  from  Ireland.  Its  sons  have  adorned 
the  bar,  the  bench,  the  pulpit,  the  army,  the  navy,  the 
Legislatures,  the  Congress  of  these  United  States. 
That  there  are  multitudes  from  Ireland  who  are  no 
loss  to  their  own  country,  nor  any  advantage  to  this, 
can  not  be  denied.  The  evidence  is  every  where  pres- 
ent in  the  ignorance,  the  squalid  poverty  of  its  immi- 
grants. The  reasons  for  this  I  may  examine  hereafter. 
But  yet  we  have  many  fine  illustrations  of  Irish  gen- 
ius, character,  and  valor  all  along  our  history ;  and  I 
have  regarded  yourself  as  one  of  them,  so  far  forth  as 
a  pushing  force  of  character  is  concerned,  and  I  have 
often  pointed  you  out  as  an  illustration  of  the  respect- 
ability which  Irish  character  is  capable  of  attaining 
when  relieved  from  the  burdens  that  oppress  and  de- 
base it.  Hence  I  have  regarded  as  your  eulogy  the 
sneers  of  those  who  have  addressed  you  as  'John 


DR.  MURRAY  AS   AN   AUTHOR.  269 

Bishop  Hughes.  Sketch  of  his  life. 

Hughes,  the  gardener.'  Such  taunts  come  not  from 
true  men." 

There  are  few  men  now  living  who  exert  a  more 
extended  or  powerful  influence  than  Archbishop 
Hughes ;  few  who,  in  a  worldly  estimate  of  success, 
have  achieved  more  than  he  has  done.  He  is  known 
from  Maine  to  Texas,  and  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pa- 
cific, as  the  highest  dignitary  of  the  Eoman  Catholic 
Church  on  the  continent,  and  as  one  who  by  talent, 
energy,  and  devotedness  is  well  entitled  to  the  emi- 
nent rank  which  he  holds.  What  Cardinal  Wiseman 
is  in  England,  that  Archbishop  Hughes  is  in  this 
country :  the  leading  mind  of  his  Church,  the  most 
obnoxious  to  his  opponents,  the  most  idolized  by  his 
admirers. 

The  position  which  he  occupies  is  in  itself  a  com- 
manding one.  That  alone  would  give  the  one  who 
held  it  a  powerful  influence  over  the  minds  of  millions 
of  his  fellow-countrymen.  Fill  it  with  a  graven  image 
possessed  of  the  mechanical  facility  for  signing  docu- 
ments, and  it  would  still  be  far  from  insignificant. 
But  Archbishop  Hughes  is  not  the  puppet  of  ecclesi- 
astical machinery.  The  position  he  holds  does  not 
dignify  him  more  than  he  dignifies  the  position.  He 
has  risen  to  it  by  his  own  energies.  He  has  fairly 
earned  his  promotion  by  untiring  industry  and  saga- 
cious and  successful  effort. 

Four  years  before  Nicholas  Murray,  and  in  the 
same  island,  John  Hughes  was  born,  and  at  the  pres- 
ent time  is  63  years  of  age.  His  father  is  said  to 
have  been  (like  Dr.  Murray's)  a  respectable  farmer  of 


270  DE.  MURKAY  AS  AN   AUTHOR. 

Gardener.  First  controversy. 

moderate  means,  who  emigrated  to  this  country  be- 
fore his  son  had  reached  his  twentieth  year.  The  first 
occupation  of  the  latter,  after  his  arrival  in  this  coun- 
try, was  that  of  gardener.  But  the  zeal  of  the  student 
was  stronger  than  the  taste  of  the  florist,  and  the  young 
Irishman,  devoting  his  spare  time  to  books,  seized  the 
first  moment  of  release  from  his  engagements,  and  en- 
tered the  Theological  Seminary  of  Mount  St.  Mary's, 
Emmettsburg,  Md.,  where  he  remained  for  several 
years.  In  1825  he  was  ordained  priest,  and  com- 
menced his  public  career  in  Philadelphia. 

It  was  not  long  before  he  felt  himself  impelled  to 
come  forward  as  a  champion  of  his  Church.  His 
opponent,  Rev.  John  Breckinridge,  was  a  foeman  wor- 
thy of  his  steel.  The  question  at  issue  was  substan- 
tially, Is  Protestantism  Christianity?  In  1834  he  was 
again  engaged  in  public  controversy,  maintaining 
against  the  same  opponent,  who  challenged  the  dis- 
cussion, that  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  in  princi- 
ples and  doctrines,  is  not  inimical  to  civil  or  religious 
liberty. 

The  success  with  which  the  young  ecclesiastic  was 
reported  to  have  conducted  the  controversy  drew  pub- 
lic attention  to  him.  In  1837,  after  five  years'  labor 
in  connection  with  St.  John's  Church,  which  he  had 
gathered  in  Philadelphia,  he  was  appointed  coadjutor 
of  Bishop  Dubois,  of  New  York,  and  early  in  the  fol- 
lowing year  was  ordained  to  the  episcopate  in  this 
city,  v/hich  has  since  been  his  place  of  residence.  The 
death  of  Bishop  Dubois  soon  opened  to  him  the  suc- 
cession to  the  most  important  see  in  this  country,  and. 


DE.  MURRAY   AS  AN   AUTHOR.  271 

Archbishop.  Success. 

after  twelve  years  of  energetic  and  successful  admin- 
istration of  the  affairs  of  his  diocese,  New  York  was 
made  an  archiepiscopal  see,  and,  at  the  hands  of  the 
Pope,  the  occupant  of  it  received  the  iMllium  of  his 
rank. 

For  the  last  twenty-three  years  there  has  been  a 
steady  and  even  rapid  growth  of  that  portion  of  the 
Church  which  has  been  under  the  authority  of  this 
distinguished  prelate.  The  monuments  of  his  success 
are  too  numerous  to  be  specified.  Our  public-school 
system  was  obnoxious  to  him.  It  tended  to  pervert 
the  faith  of  his  Eoman  Catholic  adherents.  He  did 
not  hesitate  to  enter  the  political  arena  in  order  to 
break  it  down,  or  to  modify  it  to  suit  his  designs. 
The  property  of  the  churches  of  his  diocese  was  held 
by  trustees.  It  was  encumbered  by  mortgages,  and, 
as  he  declared,  altogether  mismanaged.  He  determ- 
ined, in  accordance  with  the  theory  of  his  Church,  that 
it  should  be  vested  in  himself  as  diocesan,  A  bitter 
controversy  subsequently  sprang  up,  and  the  question 
was  carried  into  the  state  Legislature.  The  archbish- 
op was  charged  with  holding  in  his  hands  $5,000,000 
of  Church  property  in  the  city  of  New  York. 

But,  with  a  measurable  degree  of  success,  the  arch- 
bishop carried  his  point.  He  set  himself  to  the  task 
of  clearing  the  churches  of  debt,  and  of  buying  or 
building  more,  "Whenever  a  church  edifice  of  anoth- 
er denomination  was  to  be  sold,  it  was  well  understood 
that  Archbishop  Hughes  was  in  the  field.  Church 
after  church  sprang  up  under  his  fostering  care.  Nor 
did  he  neglect  the  cause  of  learning  or  of  the  priest- 


272  DR.  MURRAY  AS  AN   AUTHOR. 


hood.  St.  John's  College  was  established  at  Fordbam, 
with  its  substantial  stone  buildings  and  its  beautiful 
grounds.  The  Lorillard  estate  was  purchased,  and 
the  convent  of  the  "Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart"  was 
planted  on  the  commanding  grounds  in  the  vicinity 
of  Washington  Heights.  St.  John's  School  at  Manhat- 
tanville  was  likewise  established;  and  the  Ursuline 
Convent  at  Melrose,  and  another  female  seminary,  pos- 
sessed of  the  Forest  estate  on  the  Hudson,  were  added 
to  the  training  institutions  of  the  Church. 

Meanwhile,  anxious  to  secure  the  most  efficient  co- 
operation, and  well  aware  of  Jesuit  tact  and  energy, 
the  sagacious  prelate  determined  to  introduce  the  ob- 
noxious order  into  his  diocese.  Since  1846  he  has 
availed  himself  of  their  assistance.  The  history  of  his 
diocese  for  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  will  be  re- 
garded by  his  admirers  as  his  highest  encomium.  He 
found  it  neglected,  dilapidated,  and  impoverished.  He 
has  raised  it  to  a  condition  of  order,  prosperity,  and 
efficiency  unexampled  in  this  country.  St.  Patrick's 
Cathedral  has  been  enlarged,  and  the  foundations  of  a 
new  Cathedral  on  Fifth  Avenue,  which  is  intended  to 
surpass  any  thing  of  the  kind  on  this  continent,  have 
been  laid.  New  structures  of  various  kinds  in  this 
city  and  in  Westchester  County  have  risen  to  attest 
the  abundant  resources  which  he  has  evoked  from 
what  seemed  at  first  an  impoverished  and  most  unin- 
viting field.  He  evidently  understands  all  the  arts  of 
gathering  tribute  to  forward  his  plans.  No  lack  of 
funds  seems  ever  to  stand  in  the  way  of  his  designs. 
Even  burial  in  his  cemetery  is  said  to  be  one  source 
of  prolific  income. 


DR.  MURRAY  AS  AX  AUTHOR.  273 

Literary  character.  Person. 

Archbishop  Hughes  may  lay  some  claim  to  literary 
distinction.  He  has  figured  somewhat  as  a  popular 
lecturer,  and  has  won  laurels  even  in  this  field.  lie 
is  unsurpassed,  we  believe,  by  any  living  competitor 
in  reading  history  backward.  He  professes  the  high- 
est admiration  for  the  Dark  Ages.  He  claims  that  the 
millions  of  the  Eoman  Catholic  Church  are  a  unit  in 
faith,  and  that  all  conform  with  the  precision  of  ste- 
reotyped impression  to  the  same  unvarying  standard. 
Blocks  of  wood,  sawn  by  the  same  pattern,  iron  forms 
cast  in  the  same  mould,  these  seem  to  be  symbols  of 
the  unity  he  admires.  Not  a  few  regard  him  as  a 
masterly  strategist  of  words,  which  he  can  so  marshal 
as  to  break  the  lines  of  fact,  and  carry  confusion  where 
he  can  not  conviction. 

In  his  administrative  sphere  he  has  achieved  what 
was  possible  for  few.  He  has  brought  order  out  of 
confusion,  silenced  disaffection,  evoked  means  to  pros- 
ecute his  plans  out  of  unpromising  materials,  and  we 
believe  that,  although  he  has  not  accomplished  all  at 
which  he  aimed,  he  has  never  been  but  once  forced  to 
beat  a  retreat.  Sagacity,  industry,  and  perseverance 
have  availed  to  sustain  him  or  relieve  him  from  each 
dilemma. 

In  person.  Archbishop  Hughes  well  becomes  his 
position.  Although  of  moderate  stature,  the  dignity 
of  his  mien  and  his  massive  brow  give  him  a  some- 
what commanding  appearance.  If  not  precisely  an 
orator,  he  is  yet  an  impressive  speaker.  Nature  has 
either  denied  him  some  of  the  gifts  which  she  has 
lavished  on  his  countrymen,  or  his  good  sense  has 
M2 


274  DR.  MURRAY  AS  AN  AUTHOR. 

style.  Representative  man. 

taught  him  to  restrain  their  exercise.  Grandiloquent 
he  may  sometimes  be,  but  he  is  more  sparing  than 
one  would  anticipate  in  the  pyrotechnics  of  rhetoric. 
But  for  the  Latinity  of  his  professional  studies,  he 
would,  doubtless,  have  possessed  a  style  less  rotund, 
but  more  nervous.  Yet  such  as  it  is,  it  befits  the  man. 
It  has  something  of  the  "state-paper"  element  in  it. 
Calm,  and  for  the  most  part  dispassionate,  it  is  adapt- 
ed to  invite  confidence  or  even  admiration,  rather  than 
excite  enthusiasm.  It  is,  moreover,  characteristic  of 
the  man — a  Eichelieu  rather  than  a  Bossuet — a  man 
who  rather  writes  as  a  diplomatist  than  speaks  as  an 
orator. 

No  man  in  connection  with  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  in  this  country  may  more  properly  be  regard- 
ed as  its  "representative  man"  than  the  archbishop. 
The  unblushing  claims  of  the  Church  to  the  sole  title 
of  Chrwiian  logically  require  of  their  advocate  an  un- 
usual amount  of  capability.  The  diverse  utterances 
of  the  Church  authorities  in  different  periods,  and  the 
inconsistent  and  adverse  bulls  of  her  pontiffs,  expose 
her  assumed  infallibility  to  thrusts  from  which  it  re- 
quires the  resources  of  a  most  adroit  and  ingenious 
sophistry  to  defend  her.  The  public  opinion  of  the 
world  has  long  ago  pronounced  sentence  upon  her  pe- 
culiar moralities,  perfected  by  the  arts  of  her  Jesuit 
casuists,  and  to  veil  their  absurdities,  or  garnish  their 
pollution,  demands  a  boldness  which  is  prepared  to 
look  public  opinion  out  of  countenance,  and  conquer 
silence,  if  not  by  assent,  by  the  very  force  of  paradox. 

But  for  these  tasks,  by  natural  gifts,  by  tastes,  we 


DR.  MURRAY  AS  AN  AUTHOR.  275 


Pugnacity.  Leader. 


might  say,  perhaps,  by  instincts,  and  by  peculiar  am- 
bitions, the  archbishop  was  fully  qualified.  Puo-na- 
cious  enough  never  to  decline,  but  oftener  prepared  to 
give  a  challenge;  the  more  devoted  to  his  cause  for 
the  very  reasons  that  would  have  led  many  to  aban- 
don it,  its  difficulties,  and  its  obnoxiousness  to  popu- 
lar feeling ;  a  perfect  master  of  all  the  arts  by  which 
an  antagonist  may  be  entrapped  in  his  own  admissions, 
or  forced  into  apparent  inconsistencies;  with  a  self- 
confidence  which  will  sometimes  supply  the  place  of 
talent,  but  which,  in  combination  with  it,  serves  as  the 
intrenchment  behind  which  every  gun  can  be  care- 
fully loaded  and  deliberately  aimed ;  and,  moreover, 
with  such  supreme  reverence  for  the  authority  of  the 
Church,  that  he  would  make  reason,  experience,  and 
the  lessons  of  history  yield  before  it,  the  archbishop 
was,  for  the  cause  to  which  his  life  has  been  devoted, 
the  right  man  in  the  right  place.  Too  cool  and  col- 
lected to  be  led  astray  by  fanatical  zeal,  or  to  be  chiv- 
alrous merely  from  impulse;  too  ambitious  ever  to 
neglect  a  tourney  of  controversy  where  he  could  hope 
to  win  the  coveted  laurels ;  too  astute  not  to  perceive 
that  the  very  readiness  with  which  the  lists  are  enter- 
ed created  an  impression  in  favor  of  the  combatant, 
and  one  often  more  extensive  and  abiding  than  the 
argumentative  issue  itself,  he  combined  the  qualities 
which  designated  him  as  facile  princeps  among  his 
compeers,  and  as  the  leading  Eoman  Catholic  cham- 
pion in  this  land.  A  modest  man  would  not  have  an- 
swered. A  learned  man  merely  would  have  been  too 
timid,  from  the  consciousness  of  the  weak  points  of  his 


276  DK.  MURRAY  AS  AN  AUTHOR. 

Champion.  Correspondent. 

cause.  A  man  more  cautious  would  have  encouraged 
his  opponents  and  disheartened  his  friends  by  the 
very  manner  he  would  have  assumed ;  but  neither  by 
modesty,  too  profound  learning,  nor  excessive  caution 
was  the  archbishop  disqualified  for  his  task.  Adroit, 
unscrupulous;  if  scholastic,  never  cramped  by  his  scho- 
lasticism ;  if  well  read,  not  overburdened  by  the  lore 
of  mere  ecclesiasticism,  and  with  a  conscience  precise- 
ly adjusted  to  papal  decisions,  he  could  perceive,  with 
a  clearer  eye  than  most,  just  what  the  Church  needed 
to  have  done,  and  was  enterprising  and  self-confident 
enough  to  undertake  it  without  the  least  hesitation. 

In  these  circumstances,  he  was  regarded  by  others, 
and  might  justly  look  upon  himself,  as  the  champion 
of  the  Church,  In  successive  encounters  in  defense 
of  his  faith  he  bore  off  a  fair  reputation  as  an  intellect- 
ual pugilist. 

Such  a  man  Dr.  Murray  selected,  not  as  an  antago- 
nist, but  as  the  person  to  whom  his  argument  against 
Romanism  should  be  addressed.  The  choice  was  sa- 
gacious. The  boldness  with  which  the  letters  were 
written,  the  force  with  which  the  theological  was  oft- 
en made  a  personal  question,  and  the  pertinacity  with 
which  the  sharp  points  were  pushed  against  the  bish- 
op, as  if  he  were  an  adversary  in  danger  of  the  blows 
that  were  struck,  intensely  excited  the  interest  of  the 
reader,  and  gave  a  novel  attraction  to  the  papers  as 
they  appeared  from  week  to  week.  But  so  cautious 
was  the  writer,  that  he  did  not  venture  upon  this  at- 
tack until  his  ground  had  been  thoroughly  examined 
and  the  consequences  well  weighed.     Though  he  was 


DR.  MURRAY  AS  AN  AUTHOR.  277 


The  dean. 


to  publish  one  letter  eacli  week,  lie  did  not  begin  the 
publication  until  nearly  the  whole  series  was  careful- 
ly written  out  for  the  press. .  This  became  his  habit. 
That  he  might  not  be  tempted  to  hasty  execution  if 
he  depended  on  the  leisure  that  each  week  should  of- 
fer, he  uniformly  anticipated  the  time,  and  completed 
the  work  before  the  first  number  of  any  series  of  pa- 
pers was  committed  to  the  press.  Only  a  man  of 
method  could  master  himself  so  far  as  to  enforce  such 
a  self-imposed  rule.  But  it  was  invaluable.  The  let- 
ters were  signed  Kirwan,  the  signature  being  the 
name  of  an  Irish  clergyman,  Dean  Kirwan,  whose  con- 
version from  Popery  to  Protestantism  made  his  name 
peculiarly  appropriate  for  Dr.  Murray's  use. 

Walter  Blake  Kirwan,  of  Killalo,  was  born  in  the 
year  1754,  in  the  county  of  Galway.  His  parents 
were  wealthy  Eoman  Catholics,  who  designed  to  rear 
their  son  to  the  priesthood  of  that  Church,  for  which 
purpose  he  was  educated  in  the  College  of  English 
Jesuits  at  St.  Omer's,  in  France,  but  afterward  re- 
ceived priest's  orders,  and  was  soon  after  promoted  to 
the  chair  of  natural  and  moral  philosophy.  But  at 
the  early  age  of  twenty -four  he  accompanied  the  Nea- 
politan embassador  to  the  British  court  as  chaplain, 
an  appointment  which,  it  is  thought,  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  his  subsequent  oratorical  fame.  His  residence 
at  London  gave  him  the  opportunity  of  attending 
those  exhibitions  of  public  speaking  by  which  the 
English  Senate  and  bar  were  at  that  time  eminently 
distinguished. 

While  in  London  he  seems  to  have  begun  to  enter- 


278  DR.  MURRAY  AS  AN   AUTHOR. 

Conversion.  Eloquence. 

tain  doubts  as  to  tlie  infallibility  of  his  Church,  and 
whether  it  had  any  claim  to  be  considered  as  the  only 
Church  of  Christ  on  earth.  These  doubts  continuing 
to  increase,  he  resigned  his  chaplaincy  and  retired  to 
the  bosom  of  his  family,  where  he  remained  two  years 
before  he  formed  the  final  resolution  of  breaking  away 
from  the  bondage  of  Popery. 

Mr.  Kirwan  attached  himself  to  the  Established 
Church,  and  his  first  sermon  in  the  capacity  of  a  Prot- 
estant minister  was  preached  June  24,  1787,  in  the 
church  of  St.  Peter's,  Dublin.  He  preached  here  for 
some  time,  and  afterward  was  made  Dean  of  Killalo. 
His  sermons  were  chiefly  on  works  of  beneficence; 
finally  he  was  reserved  for  charity  sermons  almost 
entirely,  such  was  his  great  power  over  the  purses 
of  the  people.  His  popularity  as  an  orator  rose  so 
high,  that  when  it  was  known  he  was  to  preach,  the 
entrance  of  the  church  had  to  be  defended  by  guards 
and  palisades.  Even  in  seasons  of  national  distress, 
one  of  his  sermons  repeatedly  drew  contributions  to 
the  amount  of  a  thousand  or  twelve  hundred  pounds. 
Mr.  Grattan  said  in  Parliament  that  Dean  Kirwan 
had  wrung  sixty  thousand  pounds  out  of  the  people 
by  preaching,  and  stopped  the  mouth  of  hunger  with 
its  own  bread.  His  great  labors  wore  him  out,  and 
he  died  at  the  age  of  fifty-one. 

Dr.  Murray's  letters  to  Bishop  Hughes  became  sud- 
denly and  widely  popular  throughout  the  country. 
Inquiries  were  made  in  various  quarters  for  the  name 
of  the  autlior,  but  this  was  carefully  concealed.  The 
letters  were  attributed  to  various  distinguished  writers, 


DR.  MURRAY  AS  AN   AUTHOR.  279 

The  Letters.  Their  effect 

but  the  facts  of  personal  history  which  were  necessa- 
rily embodied  in  them  soon  narrowed  the  question  of 
authorship ;  and  those  who  were  acquainted  with  Dr. 
Murray's  early  career  soon  fastened  upon  him  without 
any  doubt  as  the  author.  As  the  series  was  continued, 
the  interest  of  the  public  in  them  increased.  They 
were  eagerly  and  widely  copied  into  other  newspa- 
pers, in  this  country  and  Great  Britain  and  Ireland. 
Eoman  Catholics  read  them  with  avidity.  Scores  of 
instances  were  reported  of  the  intense  interest  with 
which  Catholic  servants  in  Protestant  families  sought 
the  letters  and  devoured  them.  A  meeting  of  Eoman 
Catholics  was  held  in  the  city  of  New  York  once  a 
week,  in  secret,  at  which  these  letters  were  read  aloud 
by  one  of  the  number.  They  were  the  heart  and  life 
experience  of  one  who  had  felt  and  believed  as  they 
themselves  were  feeling  and  believing  now.  They 
had  the  stamp  of  sincerity  on  every  line,  and  the  Eo- 
man Catholic  who  read  them  knew  that  every  thing 
said  of  his  religion  in  them  was  literally  true.  Unlike 
the  most  of  controversial  writings,  there  was  no  bitter- 
ness in  them.  There  was  not  a  line  that  the  author 
"  dying  would  wish  to  blot."  The  sprightly  humor 
spread  so  pleasantly  over  every  page  was  welcome  to 
an  Irishman,  and  opened  his  heart  to  receive  the  force 
of  an  argument  and  admit  the  truth  of  a  fact.  Every 
Eomanist,  certainly  every  Irish  Eomanist,  would  ap- 
preciate such  passages  as  these.  He  is  speaking  of 
the  tendency  of  Popery  to  impoverish  the  people. 

"  It  meets  them  at  the  cradle,  and  dogs  them  to  the 
grave,  and  beyond  it,  with  its  demands  for  money. 


280  DR.  MURRAY  AS  AN   AUTHOR. 

A  specimen.  Money. 

When  the  child  is  baptized,  the  priest  must  have  mon- 
ey; when  the  mother  is  churched,  the  priest  must 
have  money ;  when  the  boy  is  confirmed,  the  bishop 
must  have  money ;  when  he  goes  to  confession,  the 
priest  must  have  money ;  when  he  partakes  of  the 
Eucharist,  the  priest  must  have  money ;  when  visited 
in  sickness,  the  priest  must  have  money.  If  he  wants 
a  charm  against  sickness  or  the  witches,  he  must  pay 
for  it  money.  When  he  is  buried,  his  friends  must 
pay  money.  After  mass  is  said  over  his  remains,  a 
plate  is  placed  on  the  cofiin,  and  the  people  collected 
together  on  the  occasion  are  expected  to  deposit  their 
contribution  on  the  plate.  Thus  pounds  are  collected 
for  burying  the  poorest  of  the  people.  Then  the  priest 
pockets  the  money,  and  the  people  take  the  body  to 
the  grave;  and  then,  however  good  the  person,  his 
soul  must  go  to  Purgatory ;  and  however  bad,  his  soul 
may  have  stopped  there.  And  then  comes  the  money 
for  prayers  and  masses  for  deliverance  from  Purgato- 
ry, which  prayers  and  masses  are  continued  as  long  as 
the  money  continues  to  be  paid.  Masses  are  yet  said 
for  people  who  died  hundreds  of  years  ago.  Now, 
when  we  remember  that  seven  out  of  the  nine  mil- 
lions of  the  people  of  Ireland  are  papists,  and  of  the 
most  bigoted  stamp,  and  that  this  horse-leech  process 
of  collecting  money,  whose  ceaseless  cry  is  ^  give^  5'iVe,' 
is  in  operation  in  every  parish,  and  that,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, every  individual  is  subjected  to  it,  can  we  won- 
der at  the  poverty  and  the  degradation  of  Ireland  ? 
Can  we  wonder  that  its  noble-hearted,  noble-minded 
people  are  every  where  hewers  of  wood  and  drawers 


DR.  MURRAY   AS   AN   AUTHOR,  281 

Shame  on  Popery.  The  volume. 

of  water  ?  Shame,  shame  upon  your  Church,  that  it 
treats  a  people  so  confiding  and  faithful  so  basely! 
Shame,  shame  upon  it,  that  it  does  so  little  to  elevate 
a  people  that  contribute  so  freely  to  its  support!  0 
popery,  thou  hast  debased  my  country — thou  hast  im- 
poverished its  people — thou  hast  enslaved  its  mind ! 
From  the  hodman  on  the  ladder — from  the  digger  of 
the  canal — from  the  hostler  in  the  stable — from  the 
unlettered  cook  in  the  kitchen  and  maid  in  the  parlor 
— from  the  rioter  in  the  street — from  the  culprit  at 
the  bar — from  the  state  prisoner  in  his  lonely  dungeon 
— from  the  victim  of  a  righteous  law  stepping  into 
eternity  from  the  gallows  for  a  murder  committed  un- 
der the  delirium  of  passion  or  whisky,  I  hear  a  protest 
against  thee  as  the  great  cause  of  the  deep  degrada- 
tion of  as  noble  a  people  as  any  upon  which  the  sun 
shines  in  the  circuit  of  its  glorious  way !" 

The  first  series  consisted  of  twelve  letters,  and  were 
published  between  February  6th  and  May  8th,  18-1:7. 
Their  immediate  publication  in  book  form  was  de- 
manded. They  were  printed  by  John  F.  Trow,  in  a 
neat  little  unbound  volume,  and  tens  of  thousands 
were  sold  with  great  rapidity.  Orders  came  in  for 
them  to  be  distributed  gratuitously  in  distant  parts  of 
the  country.  One  edition  followed  another  in  rapid 
succession.  They  were  translated  into  the  German 
language,  and  sent  by  colporteurs  in  great  numbers 
among  the  people  speaking  that  tongue.  They  were 
speedily  republished  on  the  other  side  of  the  water, 
and  were  exceedingly  popular  and  greatly  useful 
there. 


282  DR.  MURRAY   AS   AN   AUTHOR. 

Great  circulation.  A  new  call. 

More  than  a  hundred  thousand  copies  were  soon 
in  circulation  ;  and,  adding  to  this  number  those  that 
were  circulated  in  the  newspapers,  we  shall  make  up 
an  aggregate  scarcely  exceeded  by  any  publication  of 
the  day.  And  it  is  certainly  safe  and  just  to  say  that 
no  writings  on  the  Eoman  Catholic  question  have  ex- 
cited so  much  attention  since  the  Reformation,  or  have 
been  so  widely  read  by  the  masses  of  the  people. 

Bishop  Hughes  preserved  a  silence  equally  dis- 
creet and  profound.  Perhaps  he  considered  the  let- 
ters quite  beneath  his  notice.  An  answer  might  give 
them  notoriety.  Let  alone,  they  might  soon  pass  out 
of  mind.  The  Roman  Catholic  newspapers  assailed 
them  with  great  virulence.  Anonymous  writers  at- 
tacked the  author,  whose  name  had  now  become  iden- 
tified with  the  letters,  and,  without  any  authority  from 
himself,  they  were  freely  spoken  of  in  public  and  pri- 
vate as  Dr.  Murray's. 

He  was  called  on  repeatedly,  and  through  various 
channels,  to  continue  the  letters.  One  of  these  calls 
may  be  cited  as  an  indication  of  the  esteem  in  which 
the  first  series  was  held,  and  of  the  public  desire  that 
Kir  wan  would  resume  his  pen. 

"  To  the  Author  of  the  Letters  on  Romanisrti,  lately  ad- 
dressed to  Bishop  Hughes  over  the  signature  ofKirwan. 

"  Sir, — Though  you  have  chosen  hitherto  to  keep 
in  the  shade  in  reference  to  the  authorship  of  these 
letters,  I  suppose  you  are  not  buried  in  so  deep  ob- 
scurity as  not  to  have  some  knowledge  of  what  is  pass- 
ing in  the  world  around  you.     But,  lest  3'ou  should 


DR.  MUKRAY   AS   AN   AUTHOR.  283 


Iteport  of  results 


chance  to  be  loss  knowing  than  might  be  presumed,  I 
beg  to  state  to  you  through  your  own  channel  of  com- 
munication, that  the  letters  to  which  I  refer  have  been 
read  by  the  religious  community  at  large  with  a  de- 
gree of  interest  that  has  rarely  been  felt  in  reference 
to  any  similar  publication.  If  I  mistake  not,  the  judg- 
ment of  the  world  is,  that  they  are  characterized  by  a 
simplicity  and  perspicuity  that  bring  them  fairly  with- 
in the  scope  of  any  comprehension — by  a  force  of 
thought  and  expression  which  no  reflecting  and  im- 
partial mind  will  find  it  easy  to  resist — by  an  amount 
of  good  nature  and  Christian  charity  which  must  pre- 
vent any  reasonable  opponent  from  taking  offense; 
and  last,  though  not  least,  by  an  unwonted  pungency, 
which  is  likely,  ere  this,  to  have  vibrated  in  a  note  of 
terror  to  the  innermost  heart  of  Rome.  I  believe,  in 
common  with  a  multitude  of  wiser  and  better  men, 
that  these  letters  have  as  yet  only  begun  to  falfill  their 
mission,  and  that  those  who  live  at  the  ends  of  the 
earth,  and  who  are  destined  to  live  in  coming  years, 
will  look  upon  them  as  having  had  much  to  do  in  lift- 
ing from  the  world  one  of  its  heaviest  curses. 

"But  my  object  in  addressing  you  is  something 
more  than  to  inform  you  of  that  of  which,  I  dare  say, 
you  need  no  information.  You  arc  aware  that  it  is 
only  a  portion  of  the  ground  of  the  Eomish  contro- 
versy which  your  letters  have  occupied.  There  are 
many  points  of  equal  moment  with  those  already  dis- 
cussed which  you  have  left  untouched.  Allow  me  to 
say,  yours  is  the  hand  to  sweep  through  this  whole 
domain  of  error.     It  would  be  an  occasion  of  deep  re- 


284  DR.  MURRAY  AS  AN  AUTHOR. 

Expectations.  Second  series. 

gret  if  you  should  not  carry  forward  to  its  completion 
a  work  which  you  have  so  happily  begun.  The  Chris- 
tian public  expect — may  I  not  say,  demand  it  of  you. 
The  multitude  who  are  yet  in  the  same  spiritual  thrall- 
dom  from  which  you  have  escaped  demand  it.  Your 
country,  whose  political  as  well  as  religious  interests 
are  threatened  with  deadly  invasion,  demands  it.  The 
cause  of  an  enlightened  Christianity,  of  a  sound  and 
evangelical  Protestantism,  demands  it.  There  is  a  re- 
quisition upon  you,  Kirwan,  which  I  am  sure  you  can 
not  resist  without  offending  against  the  mercy  that 
hath  taken  your  own  feet  out  of  the  miry  clay,  and  es- 
tablished your  goings.  May  the  Head  of  the  Church 
enable  you  suitably  to  appreciate  your  obligations  and 
responsibilities.  Keep  in  the  dark  if  you  will,  only 
lead  others  into  the  light  of  life  and  into  the  liberty 
wherewith  Christ  makes  his  disciples  free.  Be  assured 
that  in  making  these  suggestions  I  am 

"One  of  Many." 

These  repeated  and  urgent  calls  were  not  needed  to 
induce  Dr.  Murray  to  resume  and  pursue  the  work  he 
had  undertaken.  His  heart,  and  mind,  and  hand  were 
in  it.  He  was  working  with  a  will.  It  was  a  labor 
of  love  for  his  countrymen,  for  Christ,  and  the  world. 
The  first  letter  of  a  second  series  appeared  October  2, 
1847.  In  the  Introduction  he  sets  forth  with  great 
dignity  and  felicity  the  reasons  that  impelled  him 
again  to  address  the  bishop : 

"  My  dear  Sir, — When  I  closed  the  letters  I  had 
the  honor  of  addressing  to  you  during  the  last  spring. 


DR.  MURRAY   AS  AN   AUTHOR.  285 


Many  calls. 


I  fondly  hoped  that  my  part  in  the  thickening  contro- 
versy on  Koraanism  in  our  country  had  closed  also. 
As  those  letters  formed  my  first,  I  designed  that  they 
should  also  form  my  last  appearance  before  the  pub- 
lic on  that  topic.  So  I  expressed  myself  to  you  in  my 
closing  letter;  but  the  unexpected  'ripple'  has  been 
'  excited  on  the  current  of  my  feehngs,'  and,  whether 
wise  or  otherwise,  I  have  concluded  again  to  address 

you. 

"  My  reasons  for  so  doing,  and  thus  departing  from 
my  original  resolution,  are  briefly  these :  The  public, 
who  have  so  kindly  received  and  so  widely  circulated 
my  '  Letters,'  have  called  for  another  series,  embrac- 
ino-  the  reasons  which  I  have  omitted  to  state,  and 
which,  together  with  those  stated,  forbid  my  return  to 
your  Church.  At  least  one  of  the  papers  devoted  to 
the  interests  of  popery  in  this  country  calls  upon  me, 
in  a  semi-serious  manner,  to  give  my  views  on  certain 
points  which  it  raises ;  individuals  of  your  commun- 
ion, who  have  given  my  letters  a  candid  perusal,  have 
asked  what  Kirwan  had  to  say  upon  this  and  that 
point  not  considered  by  me;  and  last,  though  not 
least,  is  a  desire  to  put  into  the  hands  of  every  inquir- 
ing Roman  Catholic  a  complete  manual  of  my  objec- 
tions to  your  Church,  candidly  and  kindly  considered. 
These,  reverend  sir,  are  the  reasons  and  motives,  and 
not  a  love  of  controversy  for  its  own  sake,  which  in- 
duce me  again  to  address  you.  Controversy,  for  its 
own  sake,  is  not  desirable,  but  it  is  necessary  so  long 
as  error  resists  the  progress  of  truth. 

"While  yielding  to  these  reas(^s  and  motives,  I  yet 


286  DR.  MURRAY  AS  AN  AUTHOR. 

Supererogation.  David  llume. 

confess  to  you  that  I  deem  the  present  series  of  letters, 
which  will  be  brief,  a  work  of  supererogation.  If  you 
have  never  performed  such  a  work,  you  know  what  it 
means.  My  conviction  is,  that  the  reasons  given  in 
my  former  letters  for  refusing  to  return  to  your  Church 
are  sufficient — sufficient  to  induce  any  sane  mind  to 
withhold  its  faith  from  your  teachings,  and  every  sane 
man  to  abandon  your  Church.  This,  you  will  say,  is 
a  partial  decision ;  it  may  be  so.  But  as  a  tree  may 
be  held  in  its  place  by  a  few  weak  roots  after  the  main 
ligaments  that  bound  it  to  the  earth  are  cut,  and  when 
the  weakest  wind  that  blows  may  cause  it  to  totter, 
so  a  mind,  when  the  power  of  an  ancient  superstition 
over  it  is  broken,  may  yet  retain  a  connection  with  it, 
influenced  by  reasons  which  seem  unworthy  of  consid- 
eration. I  know  this  to  be  the  case.  The  belief  in 
'  witches  and  warls'  was  early  impressed  on  the  mind 
of  David  Hume ;  and  it  is  said  of  him  that,  after  he 
reasoned  matter  and  mind  out  of  existence,  he  could 
not  hear  the  rustling  of  a  leaf  after  dark  without  start- 
ing as  if  a  witch  were  upon  him.  The  taste  and  smell 
of  a  sour  liquid  remain  long  in  the  emptied  cask;  and 
if  any  mind,  rejecting  the  great  outlines  of  your  sys- 
tem, is  yet  held  to  it  by  some  reasons  which  I  have 
not  considered,  and  whose  absurdity  I  may  be  able  to 
expose,  I  feel  anxious  to  relieve  it.  I  must  not  with- 
hold from  you  my  deep  conviction  that  popery  is  an 
evil  tree — that  its  fruits  are  only  evil.  I  believe  it  to 
be  a  falling  tree.  Its  branches  are  withering  in  the 
air,  and  the  axe,  wielded  by  an  Almighty  hand,  is  cut- 
ting its  roots;  and  if  I  can  assist  in  cutting  a  few  more 


DR.  MUKRAY   AS  AN   AUTHOR.  287 

Why  addressed  to  the  bishop.  An  Irishman. 

of  its  roots,  and  tlius  hastening  its  fall,  I  feel  that  I  will 
be  conferring  a  benefit  upon  our  race,  and  contributing 
to  the  emancipation  of  millions  of  men  from  a  slavery 
in  comparison  with  which  that  of  the  Pharaohs  was 
freedom.  Hence  these  additional  letters;  and  all  I 
intend  doing  is  to  state  to  you  some  farther  reasons 
which  forbid  my  return  to  your  Church. 

"Before  entering  upon  a  statement  of  these  reasons, 
permit  me  to  say  a  few  things  which  I  can  better  say 
in  this  preliminary  letter  than  any  where  else. 

"The  question  has  doubtless  suggested  itself  to  your 
mind  and  to  the  minds  of  others,  Why  do  I  address 
these  letters  to  you  ?  Some  of  my  reasons  I  have  al- 
ready given  you.  I  believe  you  to  be  a  man  of  sense 
and  of  fair  character,  which  can  not  be  said  of  all  papal 
priests.  You  are  put  forth,  now  that  Bishop  England, 
also  one  of  our  countrymen,  is  no  more,  as  the  Achilles 
of  your  party  in  these  United  States.  If  any  man  in 
the  country  can  refute  my  reasoning  and  obviate  my 
objections,  it  is  thought  you  can  do  it.  In  the  absence 
of  the  higher  qualities  of  mind,  you  are  considered  as 
quite  smart;  and  as  my  sole  object  and  aim  is  the 
truth,  I  have  selected  the  man,  in  my  opinion,  best  fit- 
ted to  correct  me  when  in  error ;  when  false,  to  show 
me  the  fallacy  of  my  reasoning ;  and  if  he  should  re- 
ply, who  would  reply  as  a  gentleman.  If  you  can  not 
confute  me,  no  man  of  your  Church  in  these  United 
States  can.  Nor  will  I  consent  to  notice  what  may  be 
said  in  the  way  of  reply  to  or  abuse  of  these  letters  by 
any  man  save  yourself  I  have,  as  they  say,  a  draw- 
ing toward  you  as  an  Irishman ;  I  respect  your  open 


288  DE.  MUBRAY   AS  AN   AUTHOK. 

Anonymous.  An  old  trick. 

and  manlj  bearing ;  and  sadly  as,  in  my  oj^inion, 
you  prostitute  your  talents,  I  have  respect  for  them. 
Hence  I  pass  through  the  ranks  of  soldiers  and  by  in- 
ferior officers,  and  go  up  to  Achilles  himself, 

"  But  you  have  not  answered  my  former  letters !  I 
confess  to  you,  sir,  that  I  had  no  expectation  that  you 
would  answer  them,  and  for  these  reasons :  First,  be- 
cause they  are  anonymous ;  and  as  I  like  not  myself 
to  contend  with  a  masked  opponent,  so  I  judged  of 
you.  The  text  is  capable  of  wide  application  :  *  As 
face  answereth  to  face  in  water,  so  the  heart  of  man 
to  man.'  I  prefer,  for  the  present,  to  stand  behind  the 
curtain ;  and  for  this,  among  other  reasons,  that  you 
and  all  men  may  decide  upon  what  I  say  simply  upon 
the  merits  of  my  statements  and  arguments ;  and  for 
the  additional  reason,  to  prevent  a  personal  controver- 
sy. It  is  an  old  trick  of  your  Church  to  leave  the  ar- 
gument for  the  man.  And,  secondly,  because  of  their 
matter.  I  speak  to  you  of  what  my  eyes  have  seen, 
of  what  my  ears  have  heard,  of  what  my  heart  has 
felt.  Facts  arc  stubborn  things.  How  can  you  make 
a  man  believe  that  to  be  sweet  which,  from  actual 
taste,  he  knows  to  be  sour  ?  It  is  hard  .to  reason 
against  a  man's  experience.  On  these  grounds  I  ex- 
pected from  you  no  reply.  And  although,  unless  I 
mistake  you,  not  one  of  the  little  men  who  seek  to 
put  the  more  abundant  honor  on  the  part  that  lacketh 
by  a  mock  dignity,  by  an  assumed  superiority,  yet  you 
know  when  to  be  wisely  silent.  If,  sir,  without  com- 
promising your  crosier — if,  during  some  hours  of  leis- 
ure from  your  varied  and  manifold  duties,  you  would 


DR.  MURRAY  AS  AN  AUTHOR.  289 

Sacraments.  Extreme  unction. 

consent  to  answer  some  of  the  reasons  and  considera- 
tions which  I  have  stated,  and  will  state  in  the  follow- 
ing letters,  which  forbid  my  return  to  your  Church, 
there  is  one,  at  least,  that  will  read  your  reply  with 
great  pleasure.  I  am  not,  sir,  among  those  who  im- 
pute your  silence  to  your  inability  to  reply  to  my 
statements ;  but  if  I  can  only  gain  access  to  the  public 
ear — if  I  can  only  obtain  from  candid  Eoman  Catho- 
lics a  careful  consideration  of  what  I  say,  your  silence 
will  give  but  little  trouble.  You  may  play  dumb  as 
long  as  it  suits  you ;  my  object  will  be  attained." 

After  such  an  introduction,  Kirwan  went  forward 
with  his  second  series  of  letters.  In  these  he  discussed 
the  doctrines  and  practices  of  the  Eoman  Catholic 
Church  with  more  freedom  of  language,  and,  if  possi- 
ble, with  more  vigor  than  in  the  first.  He  assailed 
the  "  sacrament"  of  extreme  unction  with  arguments 
from  Scripture,  and  closed  with  the  following  excla- 
mation and  incident : 

"And  what  a  tremendous  use  your  Church  has 
made  of  it!  Gaining  access  to  the  dying  beds  of 
kings,  princes,  and  barons  in  past  days,  with  your  olive 
oil,  you  have  extorted  millions  of  money  from  those 
who  believed  in  your  ghostly  power.  You  have  thus 
enriched  the  Church  and  impoverished  the  people. 
You  have  built  palaces  for  your  bishops,  and  reduced 
the  people  to  beggary.  "What  will  a  dying  sinner 
withhold  from  a  man,  who,  he  believes,  has  the  power 
to  lock  him  up  in  hell,  or,  by  a  little  olive  oil  rubbed 
on  with  his  thumb,  can  conduct  him  to  the  port  of 
eternal  happiness  ? 

N 


290  DK.  MUREAY  AS  AN  AUTHOR. 

A  sick  Indian.  Extreme  nonsense. 

"The  man  yet  lives  who  narrates  the  following 
scene,  of  which  he  was  an  eye  and  ear  witness.  The 
chief  of  one  of  our  Indian  tribes,  a  man  of  great  sagac- 
ity and  decision,  was  on  his  dying  bed.  Many  of  his 
people,  by  a  French  Jesuit,  were  converted  to  the  faith 
of  your  Church.  He  knew  the  wiles  of  your  mission- 
ary, and  forbade  him  admission  to  his  dying  bed. 
The  priest  came  with  his  olive  oil,  and  pressed  so  hard 
for  admission  to  him  that  it  was  granted.  'Stay,' 
said  the  dying  chief  to  the  man  who  relates  the  story, 
'  stay  outside  the  door,  and  if  I  knock,  come  in.'  The 
priest  entered,  and  the  door  was  closed.  Soon  a  vio- 
lent knock  was  heard,  and  the  man  entered  the  room. 
'  Take  him  out,'  said  the  dying  chief;  '  take  him  out 
— land — land — give  me  land.'  The  priest  would  put 
on  the  olive  oil,  but  wanted  first  a  grant  of  land. 

"  Reverend  sir,  your  Church  must  annul  this  sacra- 
ment of  extreme  unction  before  I  can  return  to  its  em- 
brace. To  my  mind  it  is  extreme  nonsense.  Should 
not  incantations  over  dying  men  be  left  to  Hotten- 
tots? I  implore  you  to  seek  some  other  market  for 
your  olive  oil  than  the  chambers  of  the  dying.  You 
sell  it  there  at  too  dear  a  price,  and  very  often  to  the 
deep  injury  of  the  widow  and  the  ori^han.  Often  do 
your  wretched  priests  carry  away  the  last  dollar  of  a 
poor  man  in  pay  for  their  olive  oil,  and  leave  the  vic- 
tim of  their  delusions  to  be  buried  as  a  pauper!" 

Next,  he  took  up  the  system  of  penance,  and  this 
he  disposed  of  with  masterly  skill,  and  in  the  happiest 
style.  He  exposed  its  unscripturalness ;  and  when  he 
came  to  its  use  and  abuse  by  the  priesthood,  his  invec- 


DR.  MURRAY  AS  AN  AUTHOR.  291 

ConfeasionaL  Indecency. 

tives  were  withering,  as  bis  illustrations  were  over- 
whelming.    He  says  to  Bishop  Hughes : 

"  Of  confession  I  have  already  spoken.  I  have 
shown  it  to  be  a  priestly  device  of  the  most  fatal  in- 
fluence upon  human  liberty  ;  its  tendency  to  the  cor- 
ruption of  morals  is  acknowledged.  There  is  on  my 
table  a  book,  called  '  The  Grarden  of  the  Soul,'  bearing 
on  its  title-page  your  own  name ;  and  such  a  garden ! 
Now,  conceive  yourself  sitting  in  your  confessional, 
and  whispering  through  the  little  hole  in  its  side  in 
the  ears  of  a  modest  or  immodest  young  girl  of  eight- 
een, or  an  amiable  young  wife  of  twenty-one  years,  the 
questions  on  pages  212  and  214 !  Sir,  I  dare  not  quote 
them  here.  I  strove  to  read  them  to  a  friend  a  few 
days  since,  and  before  I  got  half  through  he  cried  out, 
*  Stop !  I  can  hear  no  more.'  The  polluting  confes- 
sional is  a  part  of  your  sacrament  of  penance." 

What  can  be  more  convincing  to  an  unsophisticated 
mind  than  such  an  illustration  as  the  following  from 
the  same  letter : 

"  Take  another  case :  the  man  bound  by  the  curate 
may  be  loosed  by  the  parish  priest.  I  take  the  fol- 
lowing illustration  from  a  book  before  me :  A  penitent 
is  enjoined  to  abstain  from  breakfast  every  morning 
until  his  next  confession.  Christmas  day  intervenes, 
and  he  eats  breakfast,  not  thinking  that  that  day  could 
be  included.  On  confessing  this  at  his  next  confes- 
sion, the  curate  drove  him  from  his  knee,  declaring 
that  he  would  have  no  more  to  do  with  a  person  that 
so  trifled  with  his  commands.  On  the  borders  of  de- 
spair, he  went  to  the  parish  priest,  telling  him  the 


292  DR.  MURRAY   AS   AN    AUTHOR. 

Penance.  The  saints. 

whole  story.  '  Do  not  mind  it,  my  child,'  said  the 
kind  -  hearted  father ;  '  I  will  confess  you.'  He  did 
so,  and  absolved  him.  Ilere  one  priest  binds  sin  on 
his  soul,  and  another  unbinds  it.  He  dies  in  this  state. 
What  becomes  of  him  ?  Does  the  binding  of  the  cu- 
rate send  him  to  hell,  or  does  the  loosing  of  the  parish 
priest  send  him  to  heaven?  What  becomes  of  him? 
Is  he  suspended  somewhere  between  heaven  and  hell  ? 
Do  explain  this  matter  to  our  comprehension." 

And  again : 

"  The  penances  enjoined  by  the  priest  are  optional 
and  multiform,  and  are  modified  according  to  his  own 
prejudices  and  the  dignity  of  the  confessing  penitent. 
Some  of  the  voluntary  austerities  are  curious  enough. 
St  Dominic,  when  a  child,  would  leave  his  cradle  and 
lie  upon  the  cold  ground.  I  have  seen  many  an  ur- 
chin do  this  whose  name  is  not  yet,  and  is  not  likely 
to  be,  in  the  calendar.  St.  Francis  used  to  call  his 
body  Brother  Ass,  and  whip  it  as  badly  as  Balaam  did 
his.  Saint  Francis  Loyola  put  on  iron  chains  and  a 
hair  shirt,  and  flogged  himself  thrice  a  day.  He  de- 
served it  all!  St. Macarius  went  naked  six  months 
in  a  desert,  suffering  himself  to  be  stung  with  flies,  to 
atone  for  the  sin  of  having  killed  a  flea !  Now,  is  it 
not  a  wicked  burlesque  upon  the  religion  of  God  to 
make  ignorant  people  believe  that  in  these  and  similar 
ways  they  secure  an  exchange  of  eternal  punishment? 
Language  supplies  no  words  in  which  I  can  express 
to  you  my  deep  abhorrence  of  your  sacrament  of  pen- 
ance." 

And  having  in   this  style  exposed  the  folly  and 


DR.  MURRAY   AS  AN  AUTHOR,  293 

Hard  heart  and  soft  liead.  Kirwan's  miracles. 


wickedness  of  the  whole  system  of  penance  as  taught 
by  the  Eomish  Church,  he  says:  "  Before  closing  ray 
letter,  let  me  ask  you  one  question :  Do  you  believe 
that  none  go  to  heaven  from  New  York  but  those  to 
whom  you  and  your  priests,  with  your  keys,  open  its 
gates  ?  It  takes  a  hard  heart  and  a  soft  head  to  be- 
lieve this.     I  charge  you  with  neither." 

The  miracles  of  the  Church  furnished  the  finest 
possible  theme  for  the  display  of  Kirwan's  peculiar 
skill  in  attack.  He  cites  from  authors  of  renown 
among  the  Eomanists  a  long  catalogue  of  miracles,  the 
most  absurd  and  incredible,  and  some  of  them  irresist- 
ibly ridiculous.  And  then  he  says,  "  In  Ireland  your 
priests  are  constantly  performing  miraculous  cures  on 
men  and  cattle.  Even  your  common  people  there 
work  miracles.  When  a  thunder-storm  is  raging, 
they  kindle  a  fire,  and  heat  the  tongs  red-hot.  This 
preserves  their  cattle  from  the  lightning.  If  they  are 
killed  notwithstanding,  it  is  in  chastisement  for  some 
sins  not  confessed,  or  some  penances  not  rightly  per- 
formed. Perhaps,  sir,  it  may  astonish  you  when  I  tell 
you  that  I  myself,  while  yet  in  your  faith,  wrought 
two  or  three.  Near  my  father's  residence  was  a  wood 
in  which  a  man  was  once  killed.  His  ghost  was  reg- 
ularly seen  after  dark.  I  never  passed  through  that 
wood  without  crossing  myself,  and  saying  Hail  Mary ; 
and  I  assure  you  I  never  saw  the  ghost !  After  dusk, 
in  the  spring  of  the  year,  I  was  sent  on  an  errand  to  a 
neighbor's  house,  which  was  separated  from  ours  by 
two  or  three  fields.  As  I  ran  along,  I  saw  through 
the  magnifying  twilight  what  was  obviously  an  evil 


29-i  DR.  MURRAY  AS  AN  AUTHOR. 

The  fiend.  Lying  legends. 

spirit.  I  stopped  suddenly,  and  the  sweat  commenced 
pouring.  Naturally  of  a  resolute  spirit,  I  thus  reason- 
ed:  If  I  run  back,  he  can  catch  me ;  if  I  go  forward, 
he  can  but  catch  me.  So,  after  saying  my  Hail  Mary, 
and  crossing  myself,  I  went  forward  with  a  trembling 
step.  As  I  advanced,  the  horns  of  the  fiend  became 
perfectly  obvious.  Almost  dead  with  fear,  I  rushed 
forward  and  caught  hold  of  them  ;  and,  marvelous  to 
narrate,  those  fiendish  horns  were  instantly  turned  into 
the  handles  of  a  plow !  Now  I  submit  it  to  you,  sir, 
whether  these  miracles  wrought  by  myself  are  not  as 
great  as  those  wrought  by  St.  Mochua  or  St.  Colum- 
banus  ?  And  yet  I  fear  my  chance  for  canonization 
is  exceedingly  small." 

Kirwan  closes  this  letter  with  a  characteristic  para- 
graph : 

"You  must  give  up  your  lying  legends  and  your 
claim  to  miraculous  power  before  I  can  return  to  your 
fold.  I  feel  as  did  our  fellow-countryman  with  the 
bad  asthma,  who  exclaimed,  '  If  once  I  can  get  this 
troublesome  breath  out  of  my  body,  I'll  take  good 
care  it  shall  never  get  in  again.'" 

In  the  same  vein  he  pursues  the  marks  of  the  Papal 
Church  being  the  true  Church,  and  examines  its  unity, 
its  sanctity,  its  catholicity,  its  apostolicity,  and  its  in- 
fallibility, and  the  conclusion  he  reaches  is  summed 
up  in  these  few  words : 

"  If  a  boat  were  as  rotten  as  I  believe  your  Church 
to  be,  I  would  not  trust  it  to  carry  me  across  the 
North  River;  and  yet  it  claims  the  entire  monopoly 
of  carrying  to  heaven  all  the  souls  that  ever  enter  it, 


DR.  MURRAY  AS  AN  AUTHOR.  295 

Indulgences.  Frands. 

and  for  no  reason,  human  or  divine,  that  I  can  see, 
unless  it  be  for  the  freight  and  the  toll !" 

Kirwan's  denunciations  of  the  traffic  of  the  Church 
in  relics  and  indulgences  is  worthy  of  Luther  or  any 
of  the  old  Eeformers.  He  rises  into  a  vehemence  of 
righteous  indignation  that  sweeps  away  the  whole 
system  as  infinitely  unworthy  the  countenance  of  a 
rational,  much  more  of  a  Christian  man ;  and  he  con- 
cludes : 

"  But  you  will  say  all  this  was  the  abuse  of  the 
thing.  My  dear  sir,  your  doctrines  of  relics  and  in- 
dulgences have  no  use — they  are  all  abuse.  Guard 
them  as  you  may  in  your  catechisms  and  books,  prac- 
tically they  are  all  abuse.  Millions  have  prayed  at 
the  tombs  of  your  saints  who  never  offered  an  intelli- 
gent prayer  to  God  through  his  Son ;  millions  have 
worshiped  your  relics  who  never  worshiped  God  in 
spirit  and  in  truth;  and  millions  have  sought  deliv- 
erance from  sin  by  your  penances,  and  extreme  unc- 
tions, and  indulgences,  who  never  sought  it  through 
the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ.  And  at  this  hour,  many 
of  your  churches  in  Eome  are  nothing  but  sijlendid 
spiritual  shops  for  the  sale  of  indulgences. 

"  The  frauds  which  your  Church  has  practiced  on 
the  world  by  her  relics  and  indulgences  arc  enormous. 
If  practiced  by  the  merchants  of  New  York  in  their 
commercial  transactions,  they  "would  send  every  man 
of  them  to  state  prison.  For  frauds  amounting  to 
about  two  millions,  a  man  of  the  name  of  Schuyler 
has  been  banished  from  society,  and  has  fled  the  coun- 
try.    How  many  millions,  think  you,  by  their  pious 


296  DR.  MURRAY  AS  AN  AUTHOR. 

Kelic3.  The  Mass. 

frauds,  have  your  priests  raised  from  the  poorest  of 
the  people  of  New  York  during  your  episcopate? 
Fraud  is  not  the  less  fraud  because  committed  under 
a  religious  garb,  and  by  a  man  in  vestments  blazing 
with  crosses ! 

"By  your  doctrine  of  relics,  you  lead  the  people 
into  idolatry  on  the  one  hand ;  by  your  doctrine  of 
indulgence,  you  give  them  a  license  to  commit  sin  on 
the  other ;  at  least,  this  is  their  practical  effect.  It  is 
said  of  the  holy  Sturme,  the  disciple  of  St.  "Winifred, 
that  in  passing  a  horde  of  unconverted  Germans  as 
they  were  bathing  in  a  stream,  he  was  so  overpowered 
by  the  intolerable  stench  of  sin  that  arose  from  them 
that  he  nearly  fainted  away.  Similar  is  the  effect  of 
the  odor  of  your  relics  and  indulgences  upon  me. 
Your  Church  must  abandon  them  utterly  before  I  can 
return  to  her  communion." 

The  next  letter  brought  to  a  close  the  specific  rea- 
sons which  Kirwan  assigned  for  not  being  willing  to 
return  to  the  Church  of  Rome.  In  it  he  exposes  the 
unmeaningness  of  the  Eomish  doctrines  and  ceremo- 
nies. He  is  very  severe  in  its  strictures  on  the  mass, 
and  even  more  so  when  he  comes  to  the  unwillingness 
of  the  Church  to  allow  the  free  circulation  of  the 
Scriptures  among  the  people.  In  another,  he  contem- 
plates the  destiny  of  the  papacy,  denies  that  its  refor- 
mation is  possible,  and  anticipates  its  total  extinction. 

"It  is  my  strong  conviction  that  God  has  ordained 
the  total  extinction  of  your  Church.  I  will  not  detain 
your,  sir,  nor  my  readers,  with  any  dissertations  upon 
the  prophecies  bearing  on  this  point;  tliis  would  be 


DR.  MURRAY  AS  AN  AUTHOR.  297 

Predictions.  Signs  of  the  end. 

aside  from  my  object.  John,  when  rapt  in  vision  in 
Patmos,  informs  us  that  Babylon  '  shall  be  utterly  burn- 
ed with  fire,'  and  calls  upon  God's  people  to  'come  out 
of  her,'  that  they  might  not  be  partakers  of  her  sins, 
nor  receive  of  her  plagues.  And  Paul  tells  us  that 
the  Lord  shall  consume  '  that  wicked'  with  the  spirit 
of  His  mouth,  and  destroy  him  with  the  brightness  of 
His  rising.  And  by  '  Babylon,'  and  '  that  wicked,'  I 
believe  Paul  and  John  meant  the  papal  Church.  It 
has  already  lost  its  civil  power.  Once  she  could  de- 
throne kings,  and  absolve  subjects  from  their  allegi- 
ance: now,  in  a  civil  point  of  view,  there  is  no  weak- 
er power  on  earth.  Metternich  can  send  his  Austrian 
troops  into  the  States  of  the  Church  without  fearing 
the  least  injury  from  the  successor  of  Gregory  the 
Great!  How  is  the  mighty  fallen!  Eonge,  in  Ger- 
many, excited  to  opposition  by  the  impositions  of  the 
'Holy  Coat  of  Treves,'  has  led  out  one  hundred  thou- 
sand from  the  yoke  of  your  Church,  and  all  that  his 
Holiness  can  do  is  to  bear  it.  Even  in  the  city  of 
New  York,  the  resolute  Germans  are  flocking  out 
from  the  care  of  Holy  Mother,  and  all  that  you  can  do 
is  to  flourish  your  crook,  your  keys,  and  your  crosier 
around  the  altar  of  St.  Patrick's,  without  the  least  pow- 
er to  stop  one  of  the  wandering  sheep ;  and  the  more 
you  strive  to  stop,  the  more  determined  are  they  to 
leave  your  fold.  The  temporal  power  of  your  Church 
is  gone;  the  spiritual  is  fast  going  after  it;  and  the 
time  will  soon  be  here  when  the  pen  of  the  historian 
will  write,  The  Church  of  Rome  was,  but  is  not. 
"  How  this  is  to  be  done  is  a  question  of  some  im- 
N2 


N 


298  DE,  MURRx^Y  AS   AN  AUTHOR. 

How  to  be  done.  The  Bible. 

portance,  and  upon  which  I  have  my  own  opinions. 
A  careful  looking  at  past  providences  may  cast  some 
light  upon  the  future,  and  inspire  hope  or  fear,  accord- 
ing to  the  relation  we  sustain  to  God  and  his  Church. 
You  know,  sir,  the  way  in  which  God  treated  Pha- 
raoh and  the  Canaanites,  and  how  he  blotted  out  the 
nations  that  opposed  the  progress  of  his  people.  You 
know  the  way  and  manner  in  which  he  broke  up  the 
Jewish  Church  and  state  for  their  opposition  to  Christ 
and  his  Church.  You  know  how  the  Reformation 
progressed,  from  small  beginnings,  until  it  opened  a 
new  epoch  in  the  world's  history ;  from  what  was  con- 
sidered a  little  ecclesiastical  gladiatorship,  until  king- 
doms were  shaken ;  until  thrones,  cemented  by  ages, 
were  convulsed,  and  tottered  to  their  base ;  until  hos- 
tile armies  met  in  deadly  combat,  and  fattened  the 
earth  with  the  blood  of  the  papist  and  the  Protestant. 
God  has  the  control  of  all  agencies  to  accomplish  his 
will.  Much  will  be  done  for  the  extinction  of  your 
Church  by  education ;  much  by  the  general  influence 
of  learning ;  much,  very  much  by  the  circulation  of 
the  Bible ;  much  more  by  the  simple  and  fervent 
preaching  of  the  Gospel  to  the  masses,  as  did  Luther ; 
and  much  by  the  direct  agency  of  Him  in  whose  sight 
the  nations  are  as  a  drop  in  the  bucket,  and  who  will 
overturn  and  overturn  until  lie  shall  come  whose 
fight  it  is  to  reign. 

"  These,  reverend  sir,  are,  in  brief,  my  reasons  for 
believing  that  your  Church  is  destined  to  utter  extinc- 
tion. No  reasons  can  be  drawn  for  its  future  contin- 
uance from  its  continuance  until  now.     If  your  people 


DR.  MURRAY  AS  AN  AUTHOR.  299 

Close  of  the  series.  To  the  peeple. 

had  not  been  papists,  they  might  have  been  pagans 
or  infidels.  The  Canaanites  remained  a  long  time  in 
the  land  to  perplex  the  Jews.  Paganism  continued 
for  ages  in  the  Eoman  world  after  its  conversion  to 
Christianity ;  yet  both  became  extinct,  save  as  pagan- 
ism has  been  perpetuated  by  your  people.  Nor  can 
any  argument  be  drawn  from  the  occasional  conver- 
sions to  your  communion  which  are  now  occurring. 
You  know  that  in  ages  past  some  Christian  ministers 
relapsed  into  idolatry;  and  that,  during  the  French 
Eevolution,  some  of  your  bishops,  and  many  of  your 
priests,  went  over  to  infidelity.  You  must  lay  no  flat- 
tering unction  to  your  soul  from  arguments  like  these. 
Your  Church  is  opposed  to  the  truth  of  God,  to  the 
people  of  God,  to  the  will  of  God.  The  shed  blood  of 
the  martyrs  is  crying  to  heaven  against  it.  Its  extinc- 
tion is  certain,  and  may  God  hasten  it  in  His  own  time 
and  way. 

"  "With  the  most  sincere  prayers  for  your  spiritual 
and  eternal  welfare,  I  remain,  with  respect,  your  fel- 
low-countryman and  fellow-sinner,  Kirwajst." 

This  was  the  last  of  the  second  series  of  letters  to 
the  bishop.  Two  letters  followed  in  the  same  series, 
but  they  were  addressed  to  the  people  of  the  Church. 
They  were  full  of  tender  expostulation  and  affection- 
ate appeal.  With  the  earnestness  of  one  who  had 
been  in  all  the  darkness  and  bondage  of  the  system 
in  which  they  were  still  lying,  he  called  upon  them 
to  turn  from  their  priests  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
"These,"  he  cried  out,  "are  the  reasons,  Eoman  Catho- 
lics, why  I  turn  to  you,  and  why  I  would  implore  you, 


300  DR.  MURRAY  AS  AN   AUTHOR. 

Appeal.  Irish  fervor. 

by  all  tliat  is  to  be  desired  in  a  mind  free  to  think,  in 
a  soul  free  to  love  and  to  act — free  in  its  access  to  God, 
without  priestly  taxes  and  interferences;  by  all  that 
is  to  be  desired  in  the  social  and  religious  elevation  of 
your  children,  and  in  the  moral  regeneration  of  your 
race,  to  rise,  and  to  fling  from  around  you  the  chains 
forged  in  the  Dark  Ages,  and  with  which  priests  would 
bind  you  to  their  footstools  in  this  age  of  light." 

"  My  dear  Roman  Catholic  friends,  I  once  suffered 
just  as  you  now  do  because  of  my  utter  ignorance  as 
to  the  way  of  forgiveness  with  God.  I  was  taught  all 
about  confession,  and  confirmation,  and  penance,  and 
saints'  days,  and  fasting,  and  holy  water,  and  saying 
'  Hail  Mary.'  I  looked  upon  the  priest  as  the  door- 
keeper of  heaven,  without  whose  permission  there  was 
no  admittance ;  but  I  knew  nothing  about  the  Bible, 
and  was  taught  nothing  about  the  work  of  Christ  for 
the  sinner,  nor  about  the  work  of  the  Spirit  in  him. 
In  great  mercy,  and  in  the  way  stated  in  my  letters 
to  Bishop  Ilughes,  I  became  a  reader  of  the  Bible ; 
and,  to  my  utter  amazement,  I  found  there  taught, 
with  perfect  plainness,  the  way  of  salvation,  which  the 
priest  had  wrapped  up  in  mystery  inextricable.  The 
wayfaring  man,  though  a  fool,  may  understand  the 
way  in  which  a  soul  may  be  saved  as  taught  in  the 
Bible — it  is  beyond  the  comprehension  of  Gabriel  as 
taught  by  your  priests." 

And  then  he  appeals  to  his  countrymen  with  Irish 
fervor,  and  with  touches  of  pathos  that  can  not  fail  to 
reach  the  Irish  heart,  as  he  exclaims : 

"Irish  Roman  Catholics!  would  that  I  could  induce 


DR.  MURRAY  AS  AX  AUTHOR.  301 

Emmett.  Oppression. 

you  to  look  at  this  great  subject  in  tlie  light  of  the  Bi- 
ble. It  is  intimately  connected  with  your  temporal 
and  eternal  interests,  and  with  the  interests  of  unborn 
generations.  When  a  boy,  I  often  heard,  and  never 
but  with  burning  indignation,  of  the  magistrate,  the 
tool  of  British  power,  entering  the  houses  of  the  Irish 
suspected  of  disaffection,  and  tearing  from  its  frame 
the  speech  of  Emmett,  made  in  reply  to  the  question 
of  the  bloodthirsty  judge  who  tried  him,  'What  he 
had  to  say  why  the  sentence  of  death  should  not  be 
passed  against  him  according  to  law?'  The  British 
ministry  felt  that  that  speech  fostered  the  spirit  of 
nationality  in  the  Irish  bosom,  and  made  every  man 
who  read  it  to  resolve,  at  whatever  expense,  to  be 
free;  and  they  destroyed  every  copy  of  it  that  could 
be  found,  and  forbade  its  publication.  As  my  kin- 
dred were  among  the  disaffected  ones,  I  felt  it  to  the 
quick.  And  what,  think  you,  must  be  my  feelings 
now,  in  the  vigor  of  my  manhood,  when  I  see,  in  this 
free  land,  the  descendants  of  those  who  fought  at  Vin- 
egar Hill  and  at  Tara  permitting  individuals  calling 
themselves  the  priests  of  the  religion  of  God  to  enter 
their  houses  and  take  away  their  Bibles,  and  to  forbid 
them,  by  the  terrors  of  eternity,  to  think  for  them- 
selves on  the  most  important  of  all  subjects  connected 
with  their  being !  It  is  the  very  feeling  that  prompt- 
ed the  British  spies  to  destroy  the  speech  of  Emmett 
that  now  prompts  your  priests  to  destroy  your  Bibles. 
The  one  fostered  the  spirit  of  civil,  the  other  of  relig- 
ious freedom.  The  British  ministry  wished  to  sup- 
press the  breathing  of  your  fathers  after  their  civil 


802  DR.  MURRAY  AS  AN  AUTHOR. 

Bondage.  Bishop  aroused. 

rights ;  your  priests  wish  to  suppress  the  breathings 
of  you,  their  children,  after  religious  rights.  And  will 
you,  the  sons  of  noble  sires,  submit,  in  a  land  of  free- 
dom, to  wear  the  galling  chains  of  spiritual  bondage  ? 
Will  you  submit  to  have  these  chains  clanking  around 
you  to  the  grave,  and,  when  you  die,  to  have  them 
bound  upon  your  children ;  and  for  no  earthly  pur- 
pose but  to  sustain  a  priesthood  and  a  hierarchy  for 
whose  utter  overthrow  the  civil  and  religious  interests 
of  the  nations,  and  the  temporal  and  eternal  interests 
of  our  race,  are  calling  aloud  to  heaven  ? 

"  If  so,  with  a  slight  variation,  mine  will  be  the  lan- 
guage of  the  pious  Jeremiah,  who  had  the  civil  and 
the  religious  welfare  of  his  people  equally  at  heart :  '0 
that  my  head  were  waters,  and  mine  eyes  a  fountain 
of  tears,  that  I  might  weep  day  and  night  for  the 
blindness  and  folly  of  my  people.' 

"My  letters  are  ended.  I  commit  them  to  you, 
Roman  Catholics,  and  to  the  blessing  of  Almighty 
God." 

When  Dr.  ^Murray  here  laid  down  his  pen,  he  had  no 
thought  of  resuming  it  in  this  department  of  literary 
and  religious  labor.  But  the  bishop  was  now  roused, 
and  resolved  to  make  an  attempt,  at  least,  to  stay  the 
power  of  Kirwan's  attack  upon  the  faith  of  his  Church. 
The  first  series  of  letters  he  had  treated  with  silence. 
That  was  wise.  The  second  series,  less  popular  with 
the  Protestant  community,  was  more  effective  among 
the  Roman  Catholics  than  the  first.  They  were  fre- 
quently and  freely  criticised  by  the  author's  friends 
as  wanting  the  delicacy  and  finish  of  the  series  that 


DR  MUERAY  AS  AN  AUTHOR.  303 

Begins  to  reply.  Goes  to  Halifax. 

introduced  the  discussion,  and  made  it  so  widely  famed 
in  the  religious  world.  But,  if  there  was  any  founda- 
tion in  truth  for  this  criticism,  the  author  knew  the 
class  of  men  for  whom  he  was  writing  too  well  to  be 
diverted  or  deterred  from  his  purpose,  and  the  event 
justified  him  in  the  opinion  that  he  must  adapt  his 
weapons  to  the  enemy  against  whom  he  was  directing 
his  charge.  He  wrote  so  as  to  be  understood,  and  he 
wished  his  words  to  be  felt  as  well  as  read.  The  ef 
feet  of  this  second  series  was  more  powerful  than  that 
of  the  first.  The  newspapers  of  the  Catholics  assailed 
them  with  virulence  quite  unusual  even  with  them. 

The  bishop  himself  was  at  last  compelled,  but  most 
reluctantly,  to  take  them  up.  They  were  anonymous, 
and  he  could  therefore  have  been  justified  in  treating 
them  with  silent  indifference.  But  the  pressure  of 
public  sentiment  was  too  great  to  be  resisted.  To  re- 
fuse to  reply  seemed  to  be  a  tacit  admission  that  they 
were  unanswerable.  The  mass  of  readers  would  not 
admit  the  validity  of  the  excuse  for  silence  that  the 
writer  was  unknown  to  the  bishop.  "Every  body" 
was  supposed  to  know,  and  the  bishop  could  know  as 
well  as  others.  Yielding  to  the  pressure,  the  bishop 
at  last  entered  the  field,  and  in  a  series  of  ten  letters 
in  the  "  Freeman's  Journal,"  a  newspaper  under  his 
own  control,  he  addressed  his  people  with  arguments 
to  counteract  the  force  of  the  Kirwan  Letters. 

These  were  followed  by  a  series  of  letters  to  Kirwan 
himself;  and  in  the  midst  of  the  series,  after  having 
published  six  and  promising  more,  the  bishop  left  the 
city  for  Halifax  on  official  business,  and  brought  his 


oO-i  DR.  MURRAY   AS  AN  AUTHOR. 

Reply.  Extracts. 

letters  suddenly  and  abruptly  to  an  end.  Universal 
disappointment  was  caused  by  the  matter,  the  manner, 
and  the  termination  of  the  bishop's  correspondence. 
The  close  was  so  much  like  a  retreat,  that  it  was  dis- 
creditable to  him  and  disheartening  to  his  friends. 

In  Dr.  Murray's  reply  to  Bishop  Hughes  there  was 
more  learning,  logic,  and  real  ability  than  in  both  the 
former  series,  but  less  vivacity,  less  satire,  less  anec- 
dote, and  incident ;  and  the  letters  were,  therefore,  less 
popular,  and  less  read.  In  some  of  them  he  introduces 
his  favorite  Irish  characters,  and  plays  them  off  against 
the  bishop  with  great  effect. 

'"Bishop  Hughes,'  says  John  Murphy,  'what  is  the 
meaning  of  that  text  (James,  v.,  16),  "  Confess  your 
faults  one  to  another,  and  pray  /or  one  another .?" ' 
'Why,  John,'  you  reply,  'it  means,  confess  your  sins 
to  the  priest,  and  ask  the  priest  to  pray  for  you.' 
John  believes  and  makes  an  act  of  faith.  I,  a  little 
more  cautious,  look  at  the  text,  and  thus  reason  about 
it.  '  One  to  another' — ^that  looks  very  much  like  the 
priest  confessing  to  mc  if  I  confess  to  the  priest,  and 
I  praying  for  the  priest  if  the  priest  prays  for  mc.  I 
look  a  little  farther  after  'one  another'  or  'one  to 
another.'  I  find  in  Heb.,  iii.,  13,  the  following  words: 
'Exhort  one  another.'  Does  this  mean  that  the  priest 
must  exhort  me,  but  not  I  the  priest  ?  Very  well.  I 
find  the  following  words  in  Eph.,  iv.,  82  :  'Be  kind 
one  to  another,  tender-hearted,  forgiving  one  another.' 
Does  this  mean  that  the  priest  must  be  kind  and  ten- 
der-hearted to  me,  and  not  I  to  the  priest?  that  he 
must  forgive  me,  but  not  I  him?     What  say  you. 


DR.  MURRAY  AS  AN  AUTHOR.  305 

Johu  Murphy.  Wafers. 

Bishop  Hughes?  Yet  John  Murphy  believes  you, 
and  makes  an  act  of  faith,  and  goes  to  confession,  and 
pays  you,  and  goes  to  heaven ;  I,  a  '  private  reasoner,' 
conclude  you  pervert  the  Scriptures  to  make  a  gain  of 
godliness,  confess  my  sins  to  God,  and  for  my  opinion 
— go  to  hell ! 

"John  Murphy  again  asks,  'Bishop,  what  is  the 
meaning  of  Matt.,  xxvi.,  26,  27  ?'  You  reply, '  Why, 
John,  it  means  that  Christ  transubstantiated  the  bread 
and  the  wine  into  his  own  body  and  blood,  and  that 
then  he  multiplied  himself  into  twelve,  and  that  then 
he  gave  himself  to  be  eaten  to  each  of  the  apostles, 
and  after  he  was  thus  eaten  he  was  not  eaten ;  he  was 
yet  alive,  and  spoke  to  them.'  With  his  eyes  wonder- 
fully dilated,  he  asks,  'Bishop,  is  this  done  now?'  'Oh 
yes,  John,' you  reply,  'daily  in  the  mass.'  He  again 
asks,  '  Bishop,  why  not  give  the  bread  and  the  wine 
now  to  the  people  ?'  '  The  reason,  John,  is,'  you  reply, 
'  that,  as  the  wafer  is  changed  into  the  real  body  and 
blood  of  Christ,  there  is  no  need  of  it ;  for  if  we  eat 
the  whole  body,  we  of  course  eat  the  blood  with  it.' 
John  is  satisfied,  makes  an  act  of  faith,  and  is  saved ; 
I,  looking  a  little  farther  into  the  Scriptures,  soon  con- 
clude that  the  passage  means  that  the  broken  bread 
represented  his  body  broken,  and  the  wine  in  the  cup 
represented  his  blood  poured  out.  John  Murphy,  for 
his  act  of  faith,  is  saved,  and  I,  poor  Kirwan,  for  my 
opinion,  am  damned ! ! 

"  Such,  sir,  is  the  way  your  rule  works  as  to  texts. 
Let  us  now  see  how  it  works  as  to  some  important 
truths. 


806  DR.  MURRAY  AS  AN  AUTHOR. 


John  Murphy  again. 


"Jolm  Murphy  again  approaches  you  and  asks, 
'  Bishop,  how  can  I  be  saved  ?'  '  Why,  John,'  you  re- 
ply, '  the  Church  makes  that  very  plain ;  you  must  be 
baptized,  and  go  to  mass,  and  perform  penance ;  you 
must  go  regularly  to  confession;  when  dying,  you 
must  receive  extreme  unction ;  then  you  must  go  to 
Purgatory,  from  which  you  are  to  be  delivered  by  the 
ef&cacy  of  masses,  and  by  the  alms  and  suffrages  of 
the  faithful ;  and  then  you  go  to  heaven.'  Amazed 
at  the  tedious,  roundabout  process,  poor  John  makes 
an  act  of  faith  and  is  saved ;  I  turn  to  the  Scriptures, 
and  preferring  the  word  of  God  to  yours,  believe  that 
'  he  that  believeth  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  shall  be 
saved.'  John  Murphy  believes  you,  and  is  saved ;  I 
believe  God,  and  am  damned.  And  so  on  to  the  end 
of  the  chapter.  Why,  Bishop  Hughes,  all  this  has  not 
even  the  redeeming  quality  of  being  good  nonsense, 
an  article  in  whose  production  our  countrymen  are 
not  usually  deficient,  even  when  their  power  as  private 
reasoners  is  at  low- water  mark — an  article  in  whose 
manufacture  even  you  yourself  are  sometimes  quite 
clever ! 

"  Here,  sir,  I  will  close  my  review  of  your  reasons 
for  adherence  to  the  Eoman  Catholic  Church,  as  given 
in  your  ten  letters  to  'Dear  Eeader.'  Never  were  rea- 
sons more  baseless,  or  weaker,  presented  to  the  human 
mind  to  justify  either  opinions  or  conduct.  The  way 
in  which  you  state  them  obviously  shows  that  you 
never  examined  them ;  that  you  received  them  as 
true,  as  a  good  son  of  the  Church,  without  ever  asking 
why  or  wherefore  in  reference  to  them.     Your  rccep- 


DR.  MURRAY  AS  AN  AUTHOR.  807 

Balaam's  ass.  Bishop's  reply. 

tion  of  them  was  obviously  an  act  of  faith,  and  not  an 
opinion  formed  in  the  usual  process  of  a  private  rea- 
soner.  And  to  ask  me,  or  any  sensible,  thinking  man, 
to  believe  in  the  Catholic  Church  for  the  reasons 
presented  in  your  letters,  is  on  a  par  with  asking  me 
to  believe  that  the  little  wafer,  made  of  flour,  which 
you  lay  upon  the  tongue  of  a  papist  bowing  before 
your  altar,  is  transubstantiated  by  a  miserably  mum- 
bled ceremony  into  the  real  body  and  blood  of  Christ. 
You  might  almost  as  soon  ask  me  to  believe  in  all  the 
miracles  of  the  good  St.  Fithian  or  the  holy  St.  Bridget. 

"  Balaam's  ass  would  never  have  had  a  name  or  a 
place  on  the  page  of  history  were  it  not  for  the  whip- 
ping which  his  master  gave  him ;  and  were  it  not  for 
that  whipping,  never  would  hairs  from  his  tail  have 
been  preserved  amid  the  sacred  relics  of  Eome.  Sim- 
ilar, I  fear,  will  be  the  effect  of  this  review  in  bringing 
up  to  public  notice  letters  which  have  neither  sense, 
truth,  wit,  logic,  or  even  'clever  scurrility'  to  recom- 
mend them,  and  which,  if  let  alone,  might  have  reach- 
ed the  very  depths  of  oblivion  by  the  massive  weight 
of  their  dullness." 

The  bishop's  six  letters  to  Kirwan  were  disposed 
of  in  a  single  letter,  and  this  closed  the  letters  of  Dr. 
Murray  to  Bishop  Hughes.  Whatever  may  have 
been,  and  may  be  hereafter,  their  influence  on  the 
great  controversy  with  the  Church  of  Eome,  we  know 
that  their  immediate  effect  was  to  give  vast  popularity 
to  their  author,  and  to  bring  him  prominently  before 
the  Protestant  public  as  a  champion  of  the  faith. 

Not  long  after  the  completion  of  these  letters,  Bish- 


308  DE.  MUERAY  AS  AN  AUTHOR. 

In  the  Tabernacle.  Great  gathering. 

op  Hughes  delivered  a  discourse  in  the  city  of  New 
York  on  the  decline  of  Protestayiiism.  Its  artful  per- 
versions of  history,  its  subtle  philosophy,  and  plausi- 
ble eloquence  were  well  fitted  to  mislead  the  hearer. 
It  was  published  in  the  daily  newspapers,  and  in 
pamphlet  form,  and  widely  diffused.  So  greatly  ex- 
cited was  the  public  mind  on  the  questions  it  discussed, 
and  so  sensitive  were  the  friends  of  truth  to  the  effect 
of  this  discourse,  that  a  written  memorial  was  circu- 
lated and  signed  by  a  large  number  of  distinguished 
citizens  inviting  the  Eev.  Dr.  Murray  to  review  it. 
With  this  request  he  promptly  complied.  The  "Broad- 
way Tabernacle"  was  then  the  largest  hall  for  public 
meetings  in  the  city  of  New  York.  On  the  evening 
of  Wednesday,  January  15,  1851,  it  was  thronged  to 
its  utmost  capacity ;  and  long  before  the  hour  of  meet- 
ing, hundreds  were  obliged  to  go  away,  unable  to  gain 
an  entrance.  These  crowds  had  assembled  to  hear  a 
discourse  by  Dr.  Murray  on  "the  Decline  of  Pop- 
ery, AND  ITS  Causes."  For  nearly  two  hours  they 
listened  with  intense  attention,  while  the  speaker,  in 
probably  the  ablest  public  effort  that  he  ever  made, 
gave  a  condensed  account  of  the  progress  of  corrup- 
tion in  the  Church  of  Kome,  and  the  evidence  that  she 
is  now  in  the  days  of  her  decay.  Thousands  will  re- 
member with  what  thrilling  earnestness  he  said : 

"  In  wealth,  in  enterprise,  in  rational  liberty,  in  lit- 
erature, in  commerce,  in  all  the  elements  of  political 
and  moral  power,  Protestant  are  to  papal  nations  as 
the  sun  and  moon  in  the  heavens  are  to  the  fixed 
stars.     That  you  may  see  this,  blot  from  the  map  of 


DR.  MURRAY   AS   AN   AUTHOR.  309 

Sleepy  HoUow.  Popery  declining. 

Europe  all  that  it  owes  to  Protestantism,  and  what  is 
left  for  the  people  to  desire  ?  Blot  from  those  nations 
all  that  they  owe  to  popery,  and  it  would  be  like 
Moses  lifting  np  his  wonder-working  rod  heavenward, 
and  rolling  back  the  darkness  that  enshrouded  Egypt. 
If  this  does  not  picture  our  idea,  stop  for  a  month  or 
a  year  all  that  Protestantism  is  doing  to  civilize,  en- 
lighten, and  bless  the  earth,  and  the  world  is  moved 
and  astounded  from  its  centre  to  its  circumference; 
even  old  Austria,  the  Sleepy  Hollow  of  the  world, 
would  spring  to  her  feet  and  ask.  What  is  the  matter? 
Stop  for  the  same  time  all  that  popery  is  doing  for  the 
same  ends,  and  it  would  be  no  more  missed  than  is 
the  light  of  the  lost  pleiad  from  the  sky." 

And  in  the  midst  of  what  applause  he  concluded  in 
th^se  words : 

"Popery  has  rapidly  and  is  rapidly  declining. 
There  was  a  time  when,  if  it  was  not  respected,  it  was 
feared.  But  it  is  not  so  now.  The  force  of  its  fanat- 
icism is  spent  and  unfelt.  While  all  other  institutions 
are  rising  with  the  progress  of  society,  this  continues 
petrified.  It  is  like  a  vessel  bound  by  a  heavy  an- 
chor and  a  short  iron  cable  to  the  bottom  of  the  stream, 
while  the  tide  of  knowledge  and  freedom  are  rising 
around  it.  Its  spiritual  tariff — its  restrictions  on  the 
commerce  of  thought — its  taxes  on  the  Bread  of  Life 
— its  efforts  to  bring  seats  in  heaven  into  the  priestly 
market — its  mimic  immolations  of  the  Son  of  God  — 
its  sacrifice  of  the  people  for  the  sake  of  the  priest — 
its  nameless  exactions  and  endless  tyrannies,  are  not 
much  longer  to  be  borne.     The  Lord  will  consume  it 


310  DR.  MURRAY  AS  AN  AUTHOR. 

The  old  man.  Chief  Justice  Taney. 

with  the  breath  of  His  mouth,  and  ■will  destroy  it  with 
the  brightness  of  His  rising, 

'Though  well  perfumed  and  elegantly  dressed, 
Like  an  unburied  carcass  tricked  with  flowers, 
'Tis  but  a  garnished  nuisance.' 

"  From  every  tower  of  Zion  the  watchmen  should 
lift  up  their  voices  together,  and  cry  to  the  people  that 
they  have  nothing  to  fear.  The  world  is  not  to  be 
educated  back  again  to  the  intelligence  of  the  Dark 
Ages,  While  popery  may  be  compared  to  a  decrepit, 
nervous,  and  wrinkled  old  man,  whose  hearing  is  ob- 
tuse, and  whose  memory  is  short,  and  who,  heedless 
and  forgetful  of  the  events  passing  around  him,  is  al- 
ways prattling  about  the  past.  Protestantism  is  strong, 
and  active,  and  zealous,  and  enterprising,  and  attract- 
ive, and  looking  to  the  future.  The  mind  of  the  world 
is  with  it.  Reason  is  with  it.  The  literature  of  the 
world  is  with  it.  The  Bible  is  with  it.  God  is  with 
it.  The  entire  current  of  civilization  is  with  it.  And 
all  these  are  against  popery.  The  combat  may  be 
protracted,  but  the  victory  is  certain.  Nor,  in  the 
conflict,  will  the  cause  of  popery  be  much  aided  by 
the  support,  nor  will  the  cause  of  Protestantism  be 
any  weakened  by  the  assaults,  of  those  whose  chief 
aim  and  grand  ambition  it  is  to  wear  a  fillet  made  from 
the  wool  of  holy  sheep." 

Dr,  Murray's  next  essay  against  the  Church  of  his 
fathers  and  his  childhood  was  in  the  form  of  a  scries 
of  letters  addressed  to  the  Hon,  Roger  B.  Taney,  Chief 
Justice  of  the  United  States.  These  letters  contained 
the  results  of  his  observations  and  studies  in  the  city 


DR.  MURRAY  AS  AN  AUTHOR.  311 

"  rarish  and  other  Pencilinga."  "  Men  and  Things." 

of  Kome,  and  were  appropriately  entitled  "Komajstism 
AT  Home."  They  were  published  in  a  volume  in  the 
year  1852.  Terse,  lucid,  pungent,  and  powerful,  more 
grave  and  elevated  in  their  style  than  the  letters  to 
Bishop  Hughes,  they  were  read  with  deep  interest  by 
men  of  thought  and  intelligence,  and  added  materially 
to  the  high  reputation  which  Dr.  Murray  had  now  at- 
tained as  an  author. 

We  have  already  referred  to  his  practice  of  gather- 
ing into  note-books  the  most  remarkable  incidents  of 
pastoral  experience,  and  from  these  we  have  made 
extracts  in  this  volume.  These  incidents  were  pub- 
lished in  a  book — "Parish  and  other  Pencilings." 
Some  of  the  events  recorded  arc  in  themselves  of  the 
deepest  interest;  while  even  the  least  interesting  are 
invested  with  a  charm  well-nigh  irresistible,  from  the 
freshness  and  originality  with  which  they  are  related. 
There  is  scarcely  a  chord  strung  in  the  human  heart 
which  will  not  vibrate  to  something  to  be  found  in 
this  volume. 

We  shall  anticipate  the  order  of  time,  but  here  is 
the  proper  place  in  which  to  speak  of  his  "  Men  and 
Things  as  I  saw  them  in  Europe."  Familiar  as 
the  scenes  here  described  are  to  most  readers,  this  vol- 
ume is  too  much  like  its  author  to  be  lost  in  the  crowd 
of  foreign  travels.  All  that  he  saw  takes  its  distinct- 
ive hue  from  his  own  mind,  and  old  things  seem  to  be- 
come new  in  the  garb  with  which  they  are  presented. 
Many  of  the  descriptions  are  strikingly  beautiful,  and 
some  are  even  gorgeous.  But  the  greatest  value  of 
the  work,  perhaps,  is  derived  from  the  heavy  blows 


312  DR.  MURRAY  AS  AN   AUTHOR. 

"  Happy  Home."  "  Preachers  and  Preaching." 

which  it  deals  upon  Romanism.  This,  as  might  be 
expected,  was  always  present  to  the  author's  mind; 
and  it  was  impossible  that  he  should  travel,  especially 
in  his  native  country  or  in  Continental  Europe,  with- 
out gathering  material  for  a  fresh  onslaught  upon  this 
foe  of  a  pure  Christianity. 

"  The  Happy  Home"  is  a  little  book  well  fitted  to 
be  an  auxiliary  to  domestic  happiness  in  every  dwell- 
ing to  which  it  finds  access.  It  is  not  only  character- 
ized by  great  good  sense,  and  discrimination,  and  prac- 
tical wisdom,  but  it  is  pervaded  by  a  tender,  genial, 
loving  tone,  that  shows  how  much  the  author  was  at 
home  in  writing  on  such  a  subject.  Judging  from  all 
our  observation,  we  should  say  that  the  ideal  of  the 
happy  home  which  he  has  so  vividly  portrayed  was 
found  in  his  own  dwelling;  though  it  is  sad  to  reflect 
how  the  inroads  of  death  have  reduced  the  number  of 
its  inmates,  and  yet  delightful  to  think  of  the  3' et  hap- 
pier home  to  which  they  have  been  removed. 

"Preachers  and  Preaching"  was  the  last  volume 
that  Dr.  Murray  carried  through  the  press.  Its  design 
is  to  render  the  ministry  more  useful  and  effective  by 
increasing  the  sense  of  responsibility,  by  defining  with 
great  accuracy  the  course  of  ministerial  duty,  especial- 
ly in  the  pulpit,  and  by  inducing  a  hearty  and  vigor- 
ous co-operation  on  the  part  of  those  to  whom  the  Gos- 
pel is  preached.  In  short,  it  is  adapted  to  make  better 
preachers  and  better  hearers,  while  it  is  especially  fit- 
ted to  accomplish  good  in  our  theological  seminaries, 
by  fixing  in  the  minds-  of  those  who  are  soon  to  en- 
ter the  ministry  a  proper  standard  of  preaching,  and 


DR.  MURRAY  AS  AN   AUTHOR.  313 

I  )ying  legacy.  Discourses. 

guarding  them  against  mistakes  essentially  prejudicial 
to  their  usefulness.  It  would  be  a  fitting  exercise  of 
a  beneficent  spirit  to  take  measures  for  putting  this 
book  into  the  hands  of  every  theological  student  in 
the  country. 

"A  Dying  Legacy  to  the  People  of  his  Be- 
loved Charge"  consisted  of  several  discourses  pre- 
pared by  Dr.  Murray  shortly  before  his  death,  but  nev- 
er preached,  thus  indicating  his  habit  of  remarkable 
industry  in  anticipating  the  demands  of  his  pulpit. 
They  are  full  of  impressive  truth  on  the  most  mo- 
mentous of  all  subjects,  and  are  characterized  by  sim- 
ple and  natural  arrangement,  by  pungent  appeals  to 
the  conscience,  and  an  all-pervading  solemnity,  show- 
ing a  deep  sympathy  with  the  powers  of  the  world  to 
come. 

Dr.  Murray's  occasional  discourses,  published  in 
pamphlet  form,  were  numerous,  and  are  distinguished 
for  their  striking  adaptedness  to  the  circumstances 
which  called  them  forth,  for  simplicity  and  strength 
of  style,  for  the  absence  of  every  thing  like  preten- 
sion, and  for  the  manifest  desire  and  design  to  give 
to  the  providence  of  God  its  legitimate  effect  on  the 
minds  and  hearts  of  men. 

0 


814  DK.  MURRAY   AS   A   PREACHER. 


A  preacher. 


CHAPTER  XYL 

Dr.  Mun-ay  as  a  Preacher.  —  Habit  of  Sermonizing. — System  in 
Study. — Style  of  Speaking. — Contrast  between  his  Sermons  and 
Published  Letters. — Calls  to  various  Fields  of  Usefulness. 

The  first  great  business  of  Dr.  Murray's  life  was  to 
preach  the  Gospel.  All  his  energies  were  summoned 
to  the  work.  All  his  ambition  had  its  aim  in  its  ac- 
complishment. That  he  was  eminently  successful  as 
a  preacher,  the  fruits  of  his  ministry  are  the  most  pre- 
cious as  well  as  abundant  testimony. 

In  his  earliest  ministerial  life  he  began  to  take  great 
pains  with  his  sermons.  They  were  invariably  writ- 
ten with  deliberation,  and  method,  and  completeness, 
in  a  style  of  penmanship  and  general  finish  that  seem 
scarcely  consistent  with  the  earnest  mental  activity 
that  distinguished  him.  In  later  life,  this  habit  of 
neatness,  order,  and  jjreciseness  grew  upon  him,  so  that 
his  manuscript  sermons  would  not  have  been  more 
handsomely  prepared  had  he  expected  to  deposit 
them  in  a  public  library  for  inspection.  The  text  is 
often  written  in  English  and  Hebrew,  or  Greek,  and 
neatly  defined  with  black  lines  underneath,  showing 
the  particularity  with  which  his  paper  was  prepared 
before  he  proceeded  to  write  his  discourse. 

He  devoted  the  first  part  of  every  day  in  the  week 
to  his  sermons,  until  his  week's  work  upon  them  was 
done ;  and  so  systematic  was  he  in  this  habit,  that 


DR.  MURRAY   AS   A    PREACHER.  315 

In  the  pulpit.  His  fame. 

lie  always  kept  his  work  ahead  of  him,  frequently 
having  from  five  to  ten  sermons  on  hand  that  he  had 
not  preached ;  and  this  diligence  was  continued  and 
increased  even  when  he  was  able  to  avail  himself,  in 
an  emergency,  of  the  sermons  that  he  had  written 
twenty  and  thirty  years  before,  which  would,  of 
course,  be  new  to  most  of  his  hearers,  and  acceptable 
to  all.  When  he  was  suddenly  called  to  rest  from  his 
labors,  the  series  of  five  fresh  sermons  on  "  A  Future 
State"  were  found  in  his  study,  which  have  since  been 
printed  as  a  legacy  to  his  people. 

lie  was  not  a  pulpit  orator.  He  spoke  with  earn- 
estness, solemnity,  energy,  and  power,  and  he  never 
failed  to  secure  the  fixed  and  interested  attention  of 
his  hearers.  But  he  was  not  eloquent  in  the  sense 
which  modern  usage  has  given  to  the  word.  When 
he  went  into  a  new  congregation,  even  in  a  distant 
cit}^,  his  fame,  preceding  him,  would  draw  together 
large  numbers ;  but  they  had  heard  and  read  so  much 
of  the  Irish  wit,  the  satire,  the  pungency  and  point  of 
KiRWAN,  that  they  were  disappointed  when  they 
heard  the  solid,  methodical,  instructive,  and  able  dis- 
courses of  Dr.  Murray.  Very  rare,  indeed,  it  was 
that  a  flash  of  his  native  humor  enlivened  the  page  of 
one  of  his  sermons.  Seldom  did  he  tell  a  story,  or 
even  introduce  an  anecdote,  to  illustrate  his  subject, 
though  he  would  scarcely  write  a  paragraph  for  the 
press  without  bringing  them  in  with  striking  effect. 

His  sermons  were  always  very  serious,  his  writings 
for  the  newspaper  were  always  very  lively. 

Few  men  have  received  more  frequent  and  more 


316  DR.  MURRAY  AS  A  PREACHER. 

Invitations.  Church  calU. 

pressing  invitations  to  take  the  pastoral  charge  of  im- 
portant congregations.  And  these  invitations  were 
given  to  him  after  full  proof  of  his  ministry,  and  many 
of  them  before  he  had  acquired  fame  as  an  author. 
So  frequently  was  he  called  on  to  preach  at  the  dedi- 
cation of  new  churches,  and  at  ordination  and  installa- 
tion of  ministers,  that  he  playfully  sometimes  styled 
himself  the  Bishop  of  New  Jersey.  But  these  calls 
often  took  him  far  beyond  that  diocese,  even  to  Cana- 
da and  Nova  Scotia,  where  his  visits  were  attended 
by  demonstrations  of  great  respect. 

The  progress  which  Nicholas  Murray  made,  and  the 
position  which  he  occupied  in  the  Church,  may  be  seen 
at  a  glance  by  the  summary  of  his  course  prepared 
from  authentic  documents : 

1802,  he  was  born  in  Ireland. 

1819,  he  was  in  the  employment  of  Harper  &  Brothers,  Publishers, 

New  York. 
182G,  graduated  at  "Williams  College,  Massachusetts. 
1829,  finished  his  course  of  study  at  the  Theological  Seminary  at 

Princeton,  New  Jersey. 
1829,  called  to  Wilkcsbarre  and  Kingston,  Pennsylvania.     Also  to  be 

Secretary  of  the  Presbyterian  Education  Society.     Also  to  be 

General  Agent  of  the  American  Tract  Society  for  the  West. 

1833,  called  to  Elizabcthtown,  New  Jersey. 

1834,  called  to  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Charleston,  South  Caroli- 

na. His  acceptance  of  this  call  was  strongly  urged  by  some  of 
his  best  friends  in  the  North,  but  he  declined. 

1835,  elected  Secretary  of  the  Foreign  Missionary  Society  (for  New 

York,  Baltimore,  Philadelphia,  etc.),  but  he  declined. 

1836,  called  to  the  Park  Street  Church,  Boston ;  a  call  that  gave  him 

great  uneasiness.  He  declined  it,  and  it  was  renewed  and 
pressed  upon  him  by  a  committee  wlio  visited  him  at  Elizabcth- 
town.    He  again  declined,  and  a  third  effort,  equally  uusuc- 


DR.  MURRAY  AS  A  PREACHER.  817 

Kepeated.  And  declined. 

cessful,  was  made  by  the  same  Church  to  transfer  him  to  the 
metropolis  of  New  England. 

1837,  called  to  Natchez,  Mississippi,  to  succeed  the  Rev.  George  Potts, 
D.D.,  who  came  to  New  York ;  declined. 

1839,  called  to  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  to  the  Church  of  which  the  Rev.  M. 
W.  Jacobus,  D.D.,  was  afterward  the  pastor.  To  this  Church 
he  was  nearly  driven  by  the  counsel  and  entreaties  of  his  fa- 
thers and  brethren  in  the  ministry.  He  declined  the  call,  and 
for  ten  years  afterward  steadily  refused  to  allow  his  name  to 
be  presented  to  vacant  churches,  though  often  solicited  for  this 
purpose.     He  insisted  that  he  would  not  be  a  "  coquette." 

1842,  he  was  called,  for  the  second  time,  to  the  Church  in  Natchez 
which  had  invited  him  in  1837,  and  again  he  declined  the  call. 

1849,  called  to  the  Central  Presbyterian  Church  in  St.  Louis ;  declined. 

1850,  called  to  the  Seventh  Presbyterian  Church,  Cincinnati,  and  to 

a  professorship  in  the  new  Theological  Seminary  opened  in  that 
city.  He  was  strongly  tempted  to  go,  that  he  might  enter  on 
a  new  field  of  labor  in  the  West,  but  he  finally,  after  great  hes- 
itancy, declined. 
1852,  called  to  the  same  Church  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  whose  call  he 
had  refused  in  1839.  I  was  one  of  the  committee  who  went 
to  Elizabethtown  and  urged  this  call  upon  his  attention.  In 
the  committee  and  in  private,  personally  and  by  letter,  I  sought 
to  induce  him  to  leave  Elizabethtown  and  go  to  Brooklyn.  I 
set  before  him  the  obvious  fact  that  being  now  just  fifty  years 
of  age,  he  must  move  soon,  or  consider  it  a  fixed  fact  that  he 
must  spend  his  days  in  Elizabethtown.  But  it  was  all  in  vain. 
He  felt  as  Dr.  A.  Alexander  did,  who  said  "he  had  never 
known  an  instance  of  a  minister  going  out  of  the  general  region 
where  he  had  s]>ent  the  energies  of  his  youth,  after  he  was  fifty 
years  of  age,  who  did  not  repent  it  to  the  day  of  his  death.  His 
motto  to  ministers  was,  'Go  down  hill  where  you  went  up.'" 
Subsequently  Dr.  Murray  was  called  to  secretaryships  in  the 
Board  of  Education  and  the  Board  of  Domestic  Missions,  but 
he  preferred  to  live  and  die  among  his  own  people. 

Such  a  record  is  rarely  to  be  made  in  the  life  of  any 
minister. 


318  VISIT  TO   EUROPE. 


VWts  Eumpc. 


CHAPTER  XYII. 

First  Visit  to  Europe. — In  London. — Meeting  of  Bible  Society. — 
Distinguished  Men. — Tract  Society. — Rev.  Dr.  Hamilton. — Dr. 
Cunningham. — France,  Italy,  and  Switzerland. — Returns  to  Ire- 
land and  Scotland. — Visits  his  Birthplace. — Reflections. — Second 
Visit  to  Europe. — Letter  from  George  II.  Stuart,  Esq. 

To  revisit  tlie  land  of  his  birth,  but  still  more  to  see 
the  system  of  Eomanism  at  home,  had  long  been  a 
passionate  desire  of  Dr.  Murray.  Coming  from  his 
native  land,  not  in  childhood,  but  in  youth,  and  hav- 
ing undergone  so  complete  a  transformation  of  char- 
acter and  condition  as  to  be  able  scarcely  to  recognize 
himself  as  the  wanderer  from  Ireland  of  thirty  years 
before,  the  greater  was  his  curiosity  and  anxiety  to 
look  upon  the  scenes  of  his  childhood  and  the  land  he 
had  left. 

But  a  stronger  motive  than  this  which  urged  him 
to  cross  the  ocean  was  the  duty  and  importance  of 
studying  the  workings  of  popery  in  Irelai\d,  France, 
and  in  other  countries,  especially  in  Italy.  He  was 
writing  of  Romanism  constantly  ;  he  was  often  called 
on  to  speak  and  to  preach  in  relation  to  it;  he  was 
justly  regarded  as  the  most  popular  writer  on  the  sub- 
ject, and  he  felt  deeply  the  necessity  of  seeing  for 
himself  the  form  and  fashion  of  the  system  in  the  land 
of  its  birth.  Just  before  going  abroad  he  visited  the 
city  of  Washington,  and  was  received  with  the  highest 


VISIT  TO   EUROPE.  319 


Bearer  of  di.-patchc?.  Diaiy. 

marks  of  respect  by  the  most  distinguished  members 
of  the  government.  Mr.  Webster,  then  the  Secretary 
of  State,  understanding  that  he  was  about  to  visit  Eu- 
rope, gave  him  letters,  and  made  him  bearer  of  dis- 
patches to  Rome,  that  by  this  merely  nominal  appoint-  ■ 
ment  he  might  be  saved  from  some  annoyances,  and 
enjoy  some  facilities  of  travel. 

He  left  New  York  April  3, 1851,  in  the  packet  ship 
Montezuma,  Captain  De  Courcy.  His  friend  and 
neighbor  in  Elizabethtown,  Dr.  Chetwood,  was  his 
traveling  companion,  and  among  the  cabin  passengers 
were  the  Rev  Dr.  Wm.  L.  Breckinridge,  Mr.  Sayre, 
and  Mr.  Dolan,  of  Lexington,  Ky. 

Dr.  Murray's  habits  of  industry  and  system  are 
shown  in  the  regular,  complete,  and  comprehensive 
diary  which  he  kept  of  the  journey.  It  was  his  habit, 
daily,  to  enter  in  his  journal  a  brief  mention  of  every 
occurrence,  with  the  reflections  awakened.  These 
notes  are  less  available  for  use  in  this  volume  than 
they  would  have  been  had  he  not  designed  them  for 
immediate  service  for  his  letters,  which  he  sent  back, 
from  week  to  week,  to  the  press,  with  which  he  con- 
stantly corresponded.  He  often  makes  brief  allusions, 
which  would  be  easily  understood  by  himself,  and 
would  serve  as  hints  to  be  elaborated  hereafter,  but 
they  are  so  obscure  as  to  render  the  manuscript  diary 
of  little  service  to  us.  But  we  find  him  on  shipboard, 
as  at  home,  always  the  soul  and  centre  of  the  social 
circle,  ready  for  every  pleasure  or  labor,  the  genial 
companion  and  the  useful  man. 

On  his  arrival  in  Liverpool  he  was  met  by  his  early 


320  VISIT  TO   EUKOPE. 

Dr.  Rafflea.  Lord's  Supper. 

friend,  Daniel  James,  Esq.,  whose  kind  hospitality  he 
enjoyed  while  there.  His  first  Sabbath  in  England 
was  spent  in  Liverpool,  and  in  the  morning  of  that 
day  he  preached  for  the  Kev.  Dr.  Eaffles,  and  for  the 
first  time  in  his  life  in  gown  and  bands.  Of  this  day 
he  says : 

"  I  met  Dr.  Eaffles,  previous  to  the  service,  in  the 
vestry,  surrounded  by  his  deacons.  The  sexton  was 
there  to  put  on  the  gown  and  bands,  which  are  uni- 
versally worn  by  all  classes  of  ministers  in  Europe. 
The  Bible  and  Hymn-book  are  taken  to  the  pulpit  be- 
fore the  preacher  enters  it.  The  minister  then  passes 
into  the  church  preceded  by  the  sexton,  who  opens 
the  pulpit  door  for  him  and  shuts  him  in.  Then  the 
services  commence,  and  are  conducted  in  form  and 
fashion  as  in  our  best-regulated  Presbyterian  church- 
es. On  this  occasion  the  doctor  conducted  the  intro- 
ductory services  with  a  propriety,  solemnity,  and  unc- 
tion which  made  them  deeply  impressive,  mingling 
with  his  supplications  a  devout  thanksgiving  for  my 
happily-ended  voyage,  and  for  my  merciful  deliver- 
ance from  the  perils  of  the  deep.  The  services  ended 
with  the  administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  in  which 
I  was  permitted  to  unite.  I  deemed  the  whole  serv- 
ice a  merciful  beginning  and  a  happy  omen  of  my 
subsequent  Sabbaths  and  rambles  in  Europe." 

Dr.  Murray  arrived  in  London  May  5th,  in  the  midst 
of  the  religious  anniversary  meetings.     He  writes : 

"i/ay  6.  "Went  to  the  Bible  Society  Buildings,  and 
was  mo.st  kindly  received  by  its  secretaries.  Saw  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Jewett,  brother  of  the  celebrated  missionary 


VISIT  TO   EUROPE.  S21 

Bliod  preacher.  Anniversaries. 

in  the  East,  a  middle-sized  man,  gray,  and  perfectly 
blind.  I  said  to  him,  'We  shall  soon  be  where  we  can 
both  speak  to  and  see  one  another.'  He  instantly  re- 
plied, '  We  shall  see  Him  as  he  is — Christ,  which  is  far 
better.'" 

May  7,  he  attended  the  anniversary  of  the  British 
and  Foreign  Bible  Society  as  the  representative  of 
the  American  Bible  Society.  He  says  nothing  of  the 
speech  that  he  made  on  that  occasion,  but  his  descrip- 
tions of  the  men  whom  he  met  and  heard  that  day  are 
graphically  characteristic  of  his  pen. 

May  8.  Dr.  Murray  attended  and  addressed  the  Lon- 
don Religious  Tract  Society,  and  formed  the  acquaint- 
ance of  a  large  number  of  the  most  excellent  and  dis- 
tinguished men  in  this  and  other  departments  of  Chris- 
tian benevolence.  He  shared  their  liberal  hospitali- 
ties so  far  as  his  time  would  permit,  but  he  was  obliged 
to  decline  far  more  invitations  than  he  was  able  to 
accept. 

His  journal  is  full  in  its  notes  of  men  and  things 
that  he  met,  and  some  of  his  characteristic  strokes  in 
sketching  the  glimpses  he  saw  of  the  various  phases 
of  character  in  public  and  private  life  may  perhaps  as 
well  be  suffered  to  rest  in  his  manuscript.  Many  of 
his  notes  he  afterward  wrote  out  more  fully  and  sent 
them  home  to  the  press,  but  they  arc  less  free  and 
easy  than  the  lines  he  drew  to  preserve  vividly  in  his 
own  mind  the  images  of  all  that  passed  before  him. 
Of  the  next  Sabbath  he  writes : 

'■'■May  11.  This  is  the  Lord's  day.  I  declined  all 
invitations  to  preach  in  London,  that  I  might  spend  a 
02 


322  VISIT  TO   EUROPE. 


Dr.  Hamilton.  Vr.  Cunningham. 


Sabbath  in  hearing  and  seeing  for  myself.  As  a  good 
Presbyterian,  I  went  to  the  church  on  Regent  Square, 
to  hear  the  Rev.  Dr.  Ilamilton,  so  favorably  known  in 
our  own  country  by  several  attractive,  popular,  and 
truly  evangelical  works.  This  is  the  church  in  which 
Irving  once  preached  with  a  popularity  which  has 
never  been  equaled — when  prime  ministers,  dukes, 
and  nobles  were  willing  to  enter  by  a  window  to  hear 
him.  The  church  is  plain,  but  substantial  and  large. 
I  entered  it  before  service  commenced,  and  was  shown 
to  a  backless  bench  in  the  middle  aisle!  I  had  the 
consolation  of  seeing  others,  male  and  female,  treated 
with  equal  politeness.  After  the  service  commenced 
we  were  invited  to  empty  pews,  of  which  there  were 
several.  Others  accepted,  but  I  declined  the  honor; 
and,  partly  out  of  ill  humor  with  their  way  of  treating 
strangers,  I  kept  my  backless  seat  through  the  service. 
Instead  of  Dr.  Hamilton,  my  old  friend  Dr.  Cunning- 
ham, so  widely  and  favorably  known  in  America,  rose 
in  the  pulpit  and  performed  the  entire  service.  It 
was  a  missionary  sermon  from  2  Cor.,  v.,  14, 15 ;  full 
of  matter,  sound,  long,  and  exhaustive  of  the  text.  It 
was  Scotch  throughout.  After  service  I  was  intro- 
duced, in  the  vestry,  to  Dr.  Hamilton,  with  whom  I 
went  to  dinner,  in  company  with  Dr.  Cunningham. 
Dr.  Hamilton  is  very  like  his  books — pleasant,  imag- 
inative, free  in  conversation,  full  of  information,  cheer- 
ful, with  face,  accent,  and  manner  which  would  prove 
his  north  Tweed  origin  if  met  in  the  moon." 

3fay  15.  Dr.  Murray,  with  his  friend  Dr.  Chctwood, 
left  England  for  the  Continent  of  Europe,  and,  making 


VISIT  TO   EUROPE.  323 

Ireland.  Dr.  Cook. 

a  rapid  tour  through  France  and  Switzerland,  visited 
Italy,  and  sat  down  in  Home  to  study  "Romanism  at 
home."  The  results  of  this  visit  have  been  already 
noticed  in  connection  with  the  volumes  that  he  gave 
to  the  world  on  his  return.  Coming  back  from  the 
Continent,  he  made  a  visit  to  his  native  Ireland,  and 
to  the  spot  where  he  was  born,  and  the  graves  of  his 
parents.  From  his  diary,  every  page  of  which  would 
add  to  the  interest  and  value  of  these  memoirs,  we 
copy  the  record  of  his  feelings  when  he  reached  the 
scenes  of  his  childhood. 

EXTRACT. 

"  In  going  on  board  the  boat  for  Belfast,  the  stew- 
ard pointed  me  to  a  room  in  which  I  could  have  the 
upper  berth.  Anxious  to  know  who  would  sleep  un- 
der me,  I  asked  him  who  would  be  my  room-mate. 
'Dr.  Cook,  of  Belfast,'  was  the  reply;  the  very  man 
of  all  others  in  Ireland  I  wished  to  see  most.  Find- 
ing out  who  he  was,  I  eyed  him.  He  was  anxious  to 
know  who  I  was.  Finding  out  my  name,  and  I  find- 
ing out  his,  we  each  commenced  making  gradual  ap- 
proaches, until  finally  we  announced  each  other,  I 
complimented  him,  and  he  me;  and  having  tickled 
each  other  in  Irish  fashion,  we  went  to  bed  and  talked 
until  the  claims  of  sleep  became  irresistible.  The 
night  was  fine,  but  the  sea  was  unquiet;  yet,  while 
others  w^ere  sick  through  the  cabin,  I  felt  perfectly 
well ;  and,  amid  a  glowing  sun,  a  refreshing  air,  and 
the  kind  invitation  of  Dr.  Cook  to  dine  with  him,  etc., 
I  stepped  my  foot  upon  my  native  soil,  exclaiming  in 
heart, 


32-i  VISIT  TO   EUROPE. 

Native  place.  A  stranger. 

*' '  My  foot  it  treads  my  native  soil, 
I  breathe  my  native  air!' 

Oh,  how  changed  in  years,  in  mind,  in  heart,  in  all  the 
circumstances  of  my  being,  from  what  I  was  when,  a 
youthful  wanderer,  thirty-three  years  ago,  I  took  my 
departure  to  seek  my  fortune  in  the  New  World  of 
the  "West!  God  be  praised  for  all  the  goodness  and 
all  the  mercy  which  he  has  caused  to  follow  me ;  and 
may  this  visit  to  my  native  land  be  blessed  to  me  and 
to  it. 

'•'■July  22.  Took  a  car  at  six  this  morning  for  Castle- 
town, Delvin.  Every  thing  seemed  strange  and  new. 
Thence  rode  to  Balinaskea.  Eemembered  the  turns 
in  the  road,  but  all  else  seemed  new.  Old  houses  all 
gone,  old  roads  laid  out  in  fields,  old  fences  removed, 
and  new  houses,  roads,  and  trees  every  where  confound- 
ing me.  As  my  arrival  was  expected,  the  moment  the 
car  stopped  all  knew  who  I  was.  On  reaching  my  old 
home,  thai  was  gone,  and  a  new  one  had  taken  its  place. 
If  dropped  from  the  skies  upon  the  spot,  I  would  not 
have  known  where  I  was.  My  brother  met  me,  now 
an  old  man,  who  was  a  joyous  boy  when  we  parted. 
I  would  not  have  known  him.  His  wife  and  chil- 
dren I  never  saw  before.  Save  in  name,  and  some  of 
these  almost  faded  out  from  memory,  all  that  thronged 
around  me  were  entire  strangers.  Not  one  that  I  left 
in  midlife  remained.  Not  a  trace  existed  of  entire 
families.  And,  save  a  few  persons  a  little  older  or 
younger  than  myself,  who  remembered  me  when  go- 
ing to  school,  and  who  said  they  would  recognize  me 
any  where,  the  correctness  of  which  was  questionable, 


VISIT  TO   EUROPE.  325 

His  brother.  Homestead. 

there  were  none  who  had  any  remembrance  of  me. 
The  feeling  induced  was  more  than  I  could  bear. 
With  my  brother,  I  started  in  the  afternoon  on  a  vis- 
it to  the  house  of  an  aunt,  where  I  spent  two  years  in 
going  to  school  to  Master  White,  but  so  materially 
was  the  neighborhood  altered  that  I  did  not  recog- 
nize the  house  or  the  place.  Aunt,  uncle,  and  all  the 
neighbors  were  gone,  and  as  my  two  cousins  were  ab- 
sent, not  a  person  did  I  recognize.  One  old  lady  said 
she  remembered  me  as  a  '  fine,  bright  chap  going  to 
school.'  And  that  was  all  the  remembrance  I  could 
eke  out.  Thence  I  rode  with  my  brother,  older  than 
myself,  to  the  youngest  member  of  my  family,  James, 
who  lives  near  Castlepollard.  He  came  to  the  car 
and  spoke  to  my  brother,  but  had  no  remembrance 
of  me,  nor  I  the  least  of  him.  We  three  were  the 
only  survivors  of  a  large  family  of  children,  and  we 
spent  the  evening  together  in  seeking  to  refresh  each 
other's  memory  as  well  as  we  could.  Feeling  quite 
sick,  I  went  into  Castlepollard  in  order  to  have  the 
accommodations  of  a  hotel,  and  doctor  if  sick;  and  it 
was  well  I  did,  as  through  the  night  I  had  a  most  vio- 
lent attack  of  illness,  which  kept  me  awake  all  night. 
^^July  23.  Ordered  the  car  at  six  this  morning  to 
breakfast  with  my  brother  Thomas,  but  was  unable  to 
leave  my  room  until  eleven.  Kode  with  my  brothers 
to  the  old  homestead — met  many  of  the  children  of 
old  neighbors,  who  came  some  distance  to  see  me. 
About  four  o'clock,  rode  to  the  grave-yard  at  Castle- 
town, Delvin,  and  there,  over  the  graves  of  my  pa- 
rents, preached  Christ  to  my  two  brothers,  and  point- 


826  VISIT  TO   EUROPE. 


Parents'  graves.  Second  visit. 

ed  out  to  them  the  way  of  life,  and  the  terrible  delu- 
sions of  Komanism.  They  rode  with  me  toward  Ath- 
boy,  and  there,  in  a  secluded  part  of  the  road,  I  bid 
them  good-by,  probably  forever.  My  riding  through 
Castletown  made  quite  a  sensation,  as  somehow  or 
other  the  fame  of  me  got  among  the  j^eople  of  the  vil- 
lage, and  they  gazed  on  me  as  the  representative  of 
the  New  World." 

In  the  year  1860  Dr.  Murray  revisited  Europe  in 
company  with  George  H.  Stuart,  Esq.,  of  Philadel- 
j)hia,  a  distinguished  philanthropist,  an  Irishman  by 
birth.  The  special  object  of  the  visit  was  to  observe 
and  enjoy  the  remarkable  revivals  of  religion  then  in 
progress  in  Ireland.  Commissioned  as  a  representa- 
tive of  various  religious  societies.  Dr.  Murray  attend- 
ed the  anniversaries  in  London,  and  the  Presbyterian 
General  Assemblies  in  Edinburgh,  and  then  passed 
over  into  Ireland.  His  traveling  companion,  Mr.  Stu- 
art, has  kindly  furnished  a  sketch  of  the  tour,  which 
is  here  presented : 

"Philadelphia,  Aug.T),  1862. 

"  In  compliance  with  your  request,  I  now  subjoin 
a  few  fragmentary  memoranda  of  a  memorable  and 
happy  visit  made  to  Europe  in  1860,  with  our  be- 
loved departed  friend.  Dr.  Murray. 

"I  saw  him  first  in  1837,  and  watched  his  course 
with  interest,  but  did  not  make  his  personal  acquaint- 
ance till  1851,  in  London,  while  attending  tlie  May 
meetings  in  Exeter  Ilall.  During  this  visit  to  Europe 
we  both  made  the  acquaintance  of  that  eminent  serv- 
ant of  God,  Rev.  Alexander  Duff,  D.D.,  and  his  mem- 


VISIT   TO    EUROPE.  327 


Mr.  Stuart's  letter.  Dr.  Duff. 

orable  visit  to  America  was  one  of  the  results  of  that 
visit  and  acquaintance.  Dr.  Murray  took  a  special 
interest  in  promoting  the  immediate  object  of  Dr. 
Duff's  visit.  Being  appointed  chairman  of  the  Busi- 
ness Committee  of  the  Missionary  Convention  which 
met  in  New  York,  his  influence  was  still  more  pow- 
erful in  guiding,  encouraging,  and  cementing  that 
spirit  of  Christian  love  and  evangelical  alliance  which 
was  so  signally  manifested  on  that  occasion.  The 
New  York  train,  in  which  Dr.  Duff  was  traveling  to 
Philadelphia,  having  been  delayed  by  a  heavy  snow- 
storm, the  clergy  of  the  city,  who  had  been  invited  to 
welcome  him  at  my  house,  spent  the  evening  in  form- 
ing and  cultivating  acquaintanceships,  which  have 
continued  to  grow  and  strengthen  with  farther  knowl- 
edge of  each  other's  virtues ;  and  when,  at  a  late  hour, 
Dr.  Duff  arrived,  they  were  prepared  to  join  heartily 
with  Dr.  Murray  in  his  address  of  welcome  to  the  dis- 
tinguished missionary  in  Concert  Hall — one  of  those 
impassioned  outbursts  of  Christian  feeling  which  it 
were  vain  to  attempt  to  describe  or  report,  but  which 
those  who  have  heard  him,  in  his  happiest  moods,  can 
perhaps  imagine.  The  whole  assembly  M'as  deeply 
moved,  and  from  that  hour  the  cause  of  foreign  mis- 
sions has  been  inseparably  united  to  the  progress  of 
evangelical  alliance. 

"  I  need  hardly  say  that  my  acquaintance  with  Dr. 
Murray  deepened  into  an  esteem  and  friendship  which 
he  was  pleased  to  reciprocate,  and  which  led  me  to 
advise  with  him,  on  matters  of  grave  importance,  as 
with  a  most  intimate  friend,  and  which  resulted  in  our 


328  VISIT  TO   EUROPE. 


Irish  delegates  in  London. 


being  associated  in  several  matters  of  deep  concern  to 
the  Church  of  God.  He  united  with  me  in  extending 
an  invitation  to  the  Irish  General  Assembly  to  send 
a  deputation  to  America,  which,  being  accepted,  re- 
sulted in  the  visit  of  Dr.  Edgar,  and  Eev.  Messrs.  Wil- 
son and  Dill,  in  1859.  Co-operating  with  him  in  pro- 
moting the  object  of  this  deputation,  the  evangeliza- 
tion of  our  dear  native  land,  tended  still  more  to  deep- 
en our  friendship,  and  induced  us  to  carry  out,  in  con- 
cert, a  desire  which  each  had  long  entertained  to  re- 
visit the  scenes  of  our  childhood,  chiefly  for  the  pur- 
pose of  declaring  the  Gospel  of  the  grace  of  God. 
For  this  object  the  season  of  the  year  of  grace  fur- 
nished a  most  fitting  occasion. 

"On  the  14th  of  April,  1860,  we  set  out  on  this 
journey,  and  returned  on  the  11th  of  August  follow- 
ing. It  was  the  most  interesting  of  the  many  trips  I 
have  made  to  Europe.  The  general  benevolence, 
lively  wit,  and  earnest  piety,  so  remarkably  mingled 
in  Dr.  Murray's  character,  and  which  made  him  the 
most  agreeable  of  companions  in  travel,  speedily  ar- 
rested the  attention  and  commanded  the  respect  of 
all  our  fellow-passengers  on  board  the  Adriatic. 

"We  arrived  in  time  to  attend  the  May  meetings 
in  London,  at  two  of  which,  those  of  the  British  and 
Foreign  Bible  Society,  and  the  Tract  Society,  he  spoke 
as  the  representative  of  the  corresponding  American 
organizations,  making  on  these  occasions  the  ablest 
addresses  I  have  ever  heard  him  deliver.  We  were 
hospitably  received  by  the  noble  patrons  of  these 
great  national  societies,  and  on   such  occasions  Dr. 


VISIT  TO   EUROPE.  329 

Edinburgli.  Glasgonr. 

Murray's  native  politeness  and  urbanity  toned  natu- 
rally in  harmony  ■with  the  courtliness  and  kindness 
of  these  aristocratic  circles. 

"  In  Edinburgh  he  appeared  and  spoke  before  both 
the  assemblies,  the  subject  of  his  address  before  that 
of  the  Free  Church  being,  What  constitutes  a  Blue- 
stocking Presbyterian  ?  We  were  invited  to  the  pub- 
lic breakfasts  of  both  the  moderators,  and  were  hon- 
ored with  an  invitation  to  dine  in  Holyrood  Palace, 
by  Lord  Belhaven,  her  majesty's  Lord  High  Commis- 
sioner to  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Church  of 
Scotland.  The  hospitality  with  which  we  were  re- 
ceived by  the  Christian  friends  of  America  in  Edin- 
burgh was  so  universal  as  to  forbid  any  attempt  at 
enumeration  or  record  of  our  hosts ;  and  through  the 
special  attentions  of  Messrs.  Nelsons,  the  well-known 
publishers,  we  were  introduced  to  all  the  scenes  of 
historic  interest  in  that  classic  city  and  vicinity.  In 
connection  with  a  mission  to  the  masses,  we  address- 
ed a  large  meeting  in  the  Royal  Theatre,  Dr.  Murray 
entering  with  all  his  soul  into  the  great  movement, 
since  so  successfully  prosecuted  there,  for  preaching 
the  Gospel  to  the  poor. 

"The  only  Sabbath  we  spent  in  Scotland  was  in 
Glasgow,  where  Dr.  Murray  preached  in  the  pulpits 
of  Dr.  Buchanan,  Rev.  Jacob  Alexander,  and  that  for- 
merly occupied  by  Dr.  Chalmers,  St.  John's.  While 
there,  we  attended  the  annual  soiree  of  the  Sabbath- 
schools  of  Mr.  Alexander's  Church,  and  of  course  Dr. 
Murray  addressed  the  audience. 

"  Through  the  kindness  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Phillips, 


330  VISIT  TO  EUROPE. 

AVales.  Ireland. 

the  efficient  agent  of  the  Bible  Society  in  Wales,  who 
accompanied  us,  we  were  permitted  to  witness  the 
progress  of  the  revival  with  our  own  eyes  in  that 
country,  where  the  whole  face  of  society  has  been 
transformed  by  the  power  of  the  grace  of  God.  We 
held  four  large  meetings,  at  each  of  which  a  sermon 
was  preached  in  Welsh  by  Mr.  Phillips,  and  was  fol- 
lowed by  addresses  by  Dr.  Murray  and  myself,  in 
which  we  endeavored  to  give  an  account  of  the  work 
of  God  in  America.  In  the  slate  quarries  of  Port 
Penrhyn,  near  Bangor,  we  found  more  than  fifty  daily 
prayer-meetings  held  in  the  huts  of  the  2700  quarry- 
men,  during  the  dinner-hour.  Our  guide,  when  asked 
why  he  did  not  give  himself  to  God,  replied, '  Indeed, 
sir,  I  had  a  hard  job  to  get  rid  of  it.'  At  our  depart- 
ure from  Wales,  while  taking  our  tickets  at  the  rail- 
way station,  one  of  the  porters,  who  recognized  us, 
took  us  to  the  lamp-room,  and  showed  us  the  box  of 
Bibles  and  Ilymu-books  used  by  the  railway  men  in 
their  daily  prayer-meeting.  These  and  other  signs, 
which  met  us  on  every  side,  showed  that  the  work  had 
penetrated  the  working-classes,  and  gone  down  to  the 
very  bottom  of  society  in  Wales.  Their  congrega- 
tional singing  was  indescribably  solemn  and  impress- 
ive. The  architecture  of  their  meeting-houses  and 
their  forms  of  worship  are  very  simple.  The  prevail- 
ing form  of  religion  is  Calvinistic  Methodism,  nearly 
identical  with  Presbyterianism. 

"  But  the  most  interesting  part  of  this  visit  was  that 
to  Ireland.  Dr.  Murray  had  a  double  object  in  view: 
to  behold  for  himself  the  progress  of  the  mission  work 


VISIT  TO   EUROPE.  331 

Great  revival.  Athlone. 

of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  north  and  west, 
and  of  the  great  revival,  and  to  procure  materials  for 
a  history  of  our  native  land,  which  should  disabuse 
the  minds  of  the  people  of  America  of  the  ignorance 
and  prejudice  consequent  on  the  want  of  any  accessi- 
ble impartial  history  of  that  much  calumniated  coun- 
try. This  history,  the  fruit  of  great  research,  was  in 
a  state  of  considerable  forwardness,  and  possibly  may 
yet  be  given  to  the  public  by  some  person  inspired 
with  the  like  ambition  of  doing  justice  to  Ireland, 
though  it  will  be  hard  to  find  one  worthy  to  handle 
the  pen  of  Kirwan.  In  carrying  out  these  designs, 
we  were  indebted  to  many  clergymen  and  gentlemen 
for  the  kindest  attentions  and  the  most  warm-hearted 
Irish  hospitality ;  but  our  acknowledgments  are  spe- 
cially due  to  Dr.  Edgar,  of  Belfast,  who  invited  a  large 
company  of  ministers,  professors,  and  leading  Chris- 
tians of  Belfast  to  meet  us  at  breakfast  at  his  house 
the  morning  of  our  arrival,  placed  his  extensive 
knowledge  and  influence  at  our  service,  accompanied 
us  to  many  scenes  of  interest,  and  introduced  us  to 
the  friends  of  Christ  all  over  the  north  and  west,  and 
thus  enabled  us  to  see  much  which  otherwise  would 
have  been  utterly  impracticable,  and  to  form  and  ex- 
press, on  our  own  observation,  the  conviction  that,  of 
this  great  work  of  God  the  half  has  not  been  told. 

"  Our  first  visit,  as  arranged  by  Dr.  Edgar,  was  to 
the  mission  field  of  the  Athlone  Presbytery,  in  the 
west  of  Ireland,  and  in  the  very  midst  of  Eomanism. 
Here  we  had  an  excellent  opportunity  of  contrasting 
the  influence  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ  in  improving  the 


332  VISIT  TO   EUROPE. 


Addresses. 


temporal  condition  of  the  people,  -with  the  effects  of 
popery,  manifest  in  the  filth,  poverty,  ignorance,  and 
vice  of  the  unevangelized  districts.  We  had  an  op- 
portunity of  visiting  and  addressing  every  congrega- 
tion of  this  Presbytery  save  one,  and  of  witnessing  the 
progress  made  by  these  little  mission  stations,  in  a  few 
years  grown  into  respectable  congregations,  with  sub- 
stantial meeting-houses,  settled  pastors,  large  worship- 
ing assemblies,  and  a  people  who,  for  their  zeal,  and 
love  to  the  people  and  ordinances  of  God,  will  bear 
comparison  with  any  in  the  world.  During  his  visit 
to  this  Presbytery,  in  whose  bounds  he  was  born,  and 
where  he  spent  the  years  of  his  childhood  and  youth, 
he  preached  the  dedication  sermon  at  the  opening  of 
a  new  church  in  the  town  of  Athlone — the  very  cen- 
tre of  Ireland — more  American  in  its  style  of  archi- 
tecture than  any  thing  we  had  seen  in  Europe,  the 
pulpit  being  literally  American.  While  we  were  re- 
ceived by  all  the  ministers  and  people  of  this  Presby- 
tery with  the  greatest  kindness  and  hospitality,  we 
were  laid  under  special  obligations  by  the  Rev:  Messrs. 
Adair,  Edmonds,  Whigam,  Mawhinney,  Fleming,  and 
Watson,  and  by  Captain  Burd,  and  Messrs.  Digby  and 
Campbell,  and  their  families,  who  bestowed  on  us  the 
kindest  attentions  and  the  most  generous  hospitalities. 
"  In  the  neighborhood  of  the  Ballinasloe  congrega- 
tion we  visited  the  farm  of  one  of  its  principal  sup- 
porters, Mr.  Allan  Pollock,  a  farmer  from  Scotland, 
of  the  class  which  has  produced  such  a  revolution  in 
Irish  farming  since  the  year  of  famine.  This  gentle- 
man farms  32,000  acres  in  fields  of  50  to  100  acres 


VISIT  TO   EUROPE.  333 


Great  fanner. 


each,  inclosed  by  over  100  miles  of  stone  wall.     He 
feeds  32,000  head  of  cattle,  20,000  sheep,  and  400 
horses.     He  employs  2000  hands,  to  whom  he  pays 
$7500  wages  monthly,  and  who  are  lodged  in  neat, 
comfortable  cottages,  which  he  has  erected  instead  of 
the  hovels  he  found  on  the  estate.     His  sales  are  prin- 
cipally of  cattle,  though  he  sells  grain  annually  to  the 
value  of  $7500,  and  imports  guano  by  cargoes.    We 
counted  seven  tall  chimneys,  driving  as  many  steam- 
engines,  employed  in  doing  his  farm-work.     On  the 
very  border  of  liis  estate  was  a  little  heap  of  bushes, 
projecting  over  a  miserable  hovel,  dug  out  of  the  side 
of  the  ditch,  into  which  I  entered,  to  ascertain  by  per- 
sonal inspection  whether  human  beings  dwelt  in  a  hole 
unfit  for  hogs,  and  found  a  woman  and  children  liv- 
ing there  in  filth  and  misery,  enabling  us  at  a  glance 
to  see  the  immense  elevation  of  social  condition  pro- 
duced in  Ireland  by  Protestantism  and  its  attendant 
industry.     Before  leaving,  we  addressed  a  crowded 
meeting  in  one  of  the  neat  school-houses  he  has  built 
on  the  estate  for  the  children  of  his  working  people. 

"  We  spent  a  night  in  Limerick  with  the  Eev.  Da- 
vid Wilson,  and  saw  there  a  little  of  the  work  of  God 
under  his  ministry — a  work  which  is  already  begin- 
ning to  affect  the  state  of  society  in  that  important 
city. 

"  On  our  way  from  the  Presbytery  of  Athlonc  to 
the  north,  we  spent  some  time  in  Dublin,  where  the 
Presbyterian  Church  has  made  a  rapid  advance  in  the 
last  ten  years.  Here  Dr.  Murray  preached  to  large 
congregations,  and  addressed  two  public  meetings ;  at 


33-i  VISIT   TO    EUROPE. 


Wicklow  Mountains.  Ulster. 

the  close  of  one  of  which  a  professional  gentleman, 
well  known  in  Dublin,  waited  to  thank  the  author  of 
Kirwan's  Letters  as  the  means  of  his  conversion.  "We 
met  with  several  other  instances  of  the  same  kind 
during  our  visit  to  Ireland.  In  company  with  Mr. 
Hugh  Moore  and  Eev.  John  Hall,  we  made  an  excur- 
sion to  the  Wicklow  Mountains,  and  spent  the  greater 
part  of  the  day  in  exploring  the  scenery  on  foot.  In 
the  intercourse  of  Dr.  Murray  with  the  peasantry  on 
this  occasion,  the  peculiar  mingling  of  humor  and  wis- 
dom which  marked  his  character  had  ample  field  for 
exercise,  and  furnished  a  perpetual  fountain  of  enjoy- 
ment to  himself  and  his  companions.  The  hospitality 
and  kindness  of  Mr.  Moore,  and  Mr.  Hall,  and  many 
other  friends  in  Dublin  we  can  not  soon  forget.  On 
the  morning  of  our  departure,  we  found,  on  coming 
down  stairs,  fifty-six  ministers  and  laymen  assembled 
for  breakfast  in  Mr.  Moore's  dining-room  to  bid  us 
God  speed.  Here  Dr.  Murray,  wholly  overcome  by 
his  feelings,  as  he  referred  to  the  portrait  of  his  saint- 
ed daughter  in  heaven  which  hung  against  the  wall 
of  the  hospitable  mansion  where  she  had  been  re- 
ceived with  so  much  kindness  when  seeking  health  in 
the  land  of  her  fathers,  was,  for  the  first  time  in  his 
life,  unable  to  express  the  thoughts  he  designed  to  ut- 
ter, and  could  only  sit  down  and  weep. 

"Leaving  Dublin,  we  proceeded  at  once  to  visit 
Ulster  and  the  scenes  of  the  revival.  At  Belfast,  the 
metropolis  of  Prcsbytcrianism,  we  were  honored  with 
a  public  breakfast,  presided  over  by  the  distinguished 
Dr.  Cook,  who,  though  far  advanced  in  life,  was  still 


VISIT   TO    EUROPE.  335 

Prayer-meetinga.  Multitude. 

as  vigorous  in  mind  and  body  as  ever.  We  bad  tbere 
an  opportunity  of  visiting  several  of  tbe  daily  prayer- 
meetings,  conducted  very  mucb  like  tbose  in  Ameri- 
ca. One  of  tbese  was  beld  near  one  of  tbe  large  fac- 
tories, tbe  bands  employed  in  it  coming  in  to  spend  a 
portion  of  tbeir  dinner-bour  in  prayer  and  praise. 
Here,  also,  Dr.  Murray  preacbed  to  large,  and  often 
crowded  congregations,  and  assisted  in  laying  tbe  cor- 
ner-stones of  two  new  cburcbes,  wbicb,  witb  tbree  otb- 
ers,  were  needed  to  accommodate  tbe  additions  made 
to  tbe  Cburcb;  speaking  on  botb  occasions  in  tbe 
open  air,  to  large  assemblies,  witb  extraordinary  ani- 
mation and  unction. 

"Our  crowning  privilege,  bowever,  in  Belfast  was 
tbe  great  prayer-meeting  in  tbe  Botanic  Gardens, 
wbere  over  40,000  persons  from  tbe  city  and  vicinity 
assembled  for  worsbip  on  Monday,  July  2d,  1860. 
About  fifteen  different  stands  enabled  tbe  principal 
speakers  and  leaders  of  tbe  meeting  to  be  beard  by 
tbe  crowds  surrounding  tbem.  On  one  of  tbese  stands 
stood  tbe  rector  of  tbe  Episcopal  Cburcb,  and  just  op- 
posite, a  large  crowd  was  addressed  by  tbe  Ballymena 
weaver.  At  tbe  principal  stand,  wbere  Dr.  Murray 
spoke,  migbt  be  beard  tbe  voice  of  tbe  coacb-maker 
of  Coleraine,  wbose  remarkable  conversion  bas  been 
publisbed  to  tbe  world.  Tbe  vast  assemblage  was 
pervaded  by  tbe  spirit  of  devotion,  and  tbe  greatest 
order  and  solemnity  prevailed.  Wben  tbe  multitudes 
lifted  up  tbeir  voices  in  singing  tbe  bundredtb  Psalm, 
in  tbe  old  Scotcb  version,  tbe  sound  was  as  tbe  voice 
of  many  waters.     Tbis  meeting  will  live  in  tbe  mem- 


336  VISIT  TO   EUROPE. 


Antrim,  Down,  and  Derrj-. 


ory  of  all  "who  attended  it.  It  was  one  of  the  most 
extraordinary  assemblages  for  the  worship  of  God  on 
earth  since  the  great  congregations  in  the  wilderness 
and  at  the  dedication  of  the  Temple. 

"Eev.  Dr.  S.  M.  Dill,  and  Revs.  Messrs.  Simpson, 
M'Clure,  and  Moorehead,  directed  us  to  more  of  the 
same  interesting  scenes  of  the  revival  in  the  counties 
of  Antrim,  Down,  and  Derry.  Though  the  progress 
of  the  work  through  a  whole  year  had  taken  away 
the  excitement  of  novelty,  we  had  abundant  opportu- 
nity of  witnessing  the  ingathering  of  the  rich  harvest 
of  the  year  of  grace.  One  of  its  most  remarkable  feat- 
ures, to  one  acquainted  with  the  previous  condition 
of  the  churches,  was  the  revived  ministry,  with  whom 
the  work  of  conversion  was  the  great  subject  of  con- 
versation on  all  occasions.  Religion  was,  indeed,  the 
great  subject  of  public  interest,  and  of  conversation  in 
railway-cars  and  places  of  concourse.  We  often  saw 
walls  placarded  with  texts  of  Scripture,  and  the  stands 
at  railway  stations  filled  with  religious  books.  It  is 
impossible,  in  the  brief  space  of  a  letter,  to  chronicle 
all  the  blessed  results  of  this  revival ;  for  a  full  ac- 
count of  them,  I  must  refer  my  readers,  who  take  an 
interest  in  the  Kingdom  of  God,  to  the  authentic  rec- 
ord given  by  Professor  Gibson  in  his  well-known 
book.  The  Year  of  Grace,  and  that  by  Dr.  Weir,  of 
London,  The  Ulster  Revival. 

"At  Bally  mena,  the  focus  of  the  revival,  near  which 
it  originated,  we  met  the  ministers  and  principal  in- 
habitants of  the  vicinity  at  a  public  breakfast,  pre- 
sided over  by  Mr.  Dickey ;  and  through  the  kindness 


VISIT  TO   EUROPE.  837 


of  Dr.  Dill,  through  whose  influence  large  assemblages 
were  brought  together,  we  were  permitted  to  see 
much  more  of  the  fruits  of  the  revival  than  would 
otherwise  have  been  possible.  Dr.  Murray  lectured 
in  Dr.  Dill's  church  before  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association,  and  preached  there  also  to  a  crowded 
congregation.  Here  we  witnessed  one  of  the  most  in- 
teresting assemblages  of  children  and  adults  our  eyes 
ever  beheld.  At  the  close  of  a  lovely  Sabbath  even- 
ing in  the  month  of  June,  on  the  verdant  carpet  of  a 
newly-mown  lawn,  and  under  the  spacious  canopy  of 
the  blue  heaven,  twenty-one  Sabbath-schools  assem- 
bled to  commemorate  their  anniversary,  and  to  unite 
in  those  exercises  of  prayer  and  praise  which  seemed 
to  be  the  principal  delight  of  the  whole  population. 
As  he  beheld  the  crowds  flocking  past  the  window 
of  Dr.  Dill's  house,  in  which  we  were  guests,  to  the 
place  of  meeting.  Dr.  Murray  was  overwhelmed  with 
the  responsibility  of  addressing  such  multitudes  of 
awakened  souls,  and  said  to  me,  as  I  sat  at  a  distant 
part  of  the  room, '  Look  here,  Mr.  Stuart,  this  is  fear- 
ful ;'  nor  could  the  agitation  of  his  soul  be  composed 
until  after  repeated  approaches  to  the  throne  of  grace 
and  peace.  His  speech  on  that  occasion  will  long  be 
remembered,  and  many  will  bless  God  for  it  through 
eternity.  At  this  meeting  several  cases  of  prostra- 
tion occurred,  the  first  Dr.  Murray  had  witnessed,  but 
I  do  not  recollect  any  expression  of  his  opinion  on 
that  subject.  He  notes  in  his  diary, '  This  is  one  of 
the  marked  Sabbaths  of  my  life.' 

"  Dr.  Taylor,  of  Bally  money,  came  all  the  way  to 
P 


338  VISIT  TO   EUROPE. 

Londonderry.  Liirgan. 

Belfast  to  invite  him  to  deliver  a  lecture  in  Eev.  Mr. 
Parks's  church,  which  was  crowded.  Here  also  he 
was  received  with  the  most  unbounded  enthusiasm 
and  generous  hospitality. 

"  At  Londonderry  he  preached  for  Dr.  Dunham 
and  Rev.  William  M'Clure,  to  congregations  measured 
by  the  capacity  of  the  meeting-houses,  and  was  deep- 
ly interested  in  the  ancient  walls  and  bastions,  and 
other  monuments  of  its  defense  under  its  brave  Pres- 
byterian minister  and  governor.  Walker,  whose  mon- 
ument is  an  auspicious  landmark  to  all  travelers  ap- 
proaching the  city.  But  the  city  itself,  with  its  thriv- 
ing factories,  its  noble  schools,  and  Magee  College,  and 
its  multiplying  Presbyterian  churches  and  Sabbath- 
schools,  is  the  best  monument  of  the  vitality  of  that 
form  of  the  Gospel  of  the  grace  of  God. 

"On  the  invitation  of  Francis  Watson,  Esq.,  we 
visited  Lurgan,  and  addressed  two  simultaneous  meet- 
ings, rendered  necessary  by  the  incapacity  of  any  sin- 
gle building  to  receive  the  multitude — a  Young  Men's 
Society  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  in  the  Mechanics' 
Institute  built  by  the  liberality  of  William  Watson, 
Esq.,  of  New  York,  and  a  public  meeting  in  Rev.  Mr. 
Berkeley's  meeting  -  house ;  Dr.  Murray  giving  the 
opening  address  there,  and  proceeding  immediately  to 
address  the  meeting  in  the  Institute,  where  I  made  the 
opening  address,  and  then,  on  his  arrival,  went  over 
and  addressed  the  other  meeting.  A  very  solemn 
feeling  pervaded  both  these  large  assemblies. 

"  Of  several  other  scenes  of  deep  interest  I  omit 
any  mention,  as  the  subject  of  this  letter  did  not  ac- 


VISIT   TO   EUROPE,  339 


In  England.  Eoyal  Pavilion. 

company  me  to  them ;  but  the  kindness  and  love  of 
the  Christian  friends  by  whom  I  was  received,  and 
the  tokens  of  the  presence  of  God  among  them,  I  can 
never  forget.  This  letter  has  already  extended  to 
such  a  length  that  I  must  also  forbear  reference  to 
many  deeply  interesting  incidents,  and  to  many  dear 
friends  whose  hospitality  and  attentions  were  lavished 
upon  us  both,  merely  stating  the  fact  that,  during  the 
six  weeks  of  our  stay  in  Ireland,  we  only  slept  three 
times  in  a  hotel,  at  the  Giants'  Causeway  and  the 
Lakes  of  Killarney. 

"In  England  we  held  meetings  on  behalf  of  the 
Evangelical  Alliance,  at  the  request  of  the  Committee 
of  the  British  Branch  in  Manchester  and  Brighton ; 
and  Dr.  Murray  preached  in  Liverpool  and  Birken- 
head, and  at  the  latter  place  attended  a  tea-party  given 
us  in  the  lecture-room  of  Eev.  Mr.  Tower's  church. 
Our  last  meeting  in  Britain  was  that  above  referred  to 
in  Brighton ;  and  while  all  his  public  addresses  there 
were  marked  by  increasing  earnestness,  this  last  ad- 
dress in  the  Royal  Pavilion,  in  the  very  room  where 
George  the  Fourth  held  his  bacchanalian  orgies,  was 
characterized  by  an  indescribable  energy  and  unction, 
and  produced  the  most  marked  and  solemnizing  in- 
fluence on  the  audience.  He  felt,  and  expressed  the 
feeling,  that  these  were  the  last  addresses  he  should 
ever  make  to  these  vast  assemblages,  to  whom  he 
ministered  the  Gospel  as  the  savor  of  life  unto  life, 
or  of  death  unto  death. 

"  We  made  a  hasty  visit  to  Paris,  where  he  preach- 
ed in  the  American  Chapel  for  Dr.  M'Clintock,  and 


340  VISIT  TO   EUEOPE. 


Napoleon.  Dairyman's  Daughter. 


spent  one  of  the  last  hours  of  our  stay  in  a  visit  to 
the  grave  of  Napoleon.  Taking  the  steamer  Adri- 
atic at  Havre  for  home,  we  touched  at  Cowes  for  the 
mails,  and  went  ashore  to  spend  the  last  moments  of 
our  stay  in  Europe  in  visiting  the  grave  of  the  Dairy- 
man's Daughter,  and  reflecting  on  the  contrast  be- 
tween the  growing  glory  of  her  immortal  usefulness, 
shining  undying  as  the  stars,  and  the  fading  honors 
of  the  destroyer  of  nations.  In  God's  sight,  the  hum- 
ble Christian  peasant  is  more  truly  heroic  than  the 
conqueror  of  Europe. 

"  In  these  journeys  I  had  ample  opportunities  of 
observing  Dr.  Murray's  prudence,  cheerfulness,  zeal, 
piety,  and  readiness  for  every  good  work,  and  my 
esteem  for  his  character  daily  increased.  It  does  not 
become  me  to  attempt  any  delineation  of  his  charac- 
ter ;  that  duty  has  been  performed  by  an  abler  hand ; 
but  I  feel  that  by  his  departure  I  have  lost  a  confi- 
dential friend,  to  whose  judgment,  on  matters  of  deli- 
cacy and  importance,  I  was  frequently  permitted  to 
refer,  and  in  every  instance  had  reason  to  ^acquiesce 
in  the  wisdom  of  his  conclusions.  His  departure  is  a 
large  subtraction  from  the  society  of  the  excellent  of 
the  earth,  and  should  be  an  additional  incentive  to 
hasten  to  that  better  land  where,  with  congenial  and 
worthy  companions,  he  is  showing  forth  the  glories 
of  our  Divine  Eedeemer,  which  he  loved  to  exhibit 
here  below. 

"  Taken  away,  as  he  was,  from  the  evil  to  come  on 
our  afflicted  country,  it  will  be  interesting  to  his  many 
friends  to  know  that  one  of  the  last  conversations  I 


VISIT  TO   EUROPE.  341 

His  work  done.  His  motto. 

had  with  him  was  on  the  subject  of  our  national  dan- 
gers, on  the  occasion  of  the  fast  proclaimed  by  Presi- 
dent Buchanan.  He  read  me  an  extract  from  the 
sermon  he  preached  on  that  occasion,  in  which  he 
strongly  protested  against  the  continued  encroach- 
ments of  the  slave  power,  and  the  growth  of  a  sedi- 
tious spirit  among  the  politicians  of  the  South,  and 
against  the  cowardly  relinquishment  of  free  discus- 
sion by  the  churches  and  people  of  the  North ;  indi- 
cating that,  had  he  lived  to  take  part  in  the  great  con- 
flict now  waging,  his  heart,  and  voice,  and  powerful 
pen  would  have  been  engaged  for  God  and  liberty. 
But  his  work  was  finished — let  us  bless  God  for  it — 
in  happier  times,  and  now  he  shall  no  more  see  the 
storm  of  battle,  or  hear  the  alarm  of  war.  He  has 
entered  into  peace.  May  we,  by  God's  grace,  be  en- 
abled to  follow  those  who,  through  faith  and  patience, 
inherit  the  promises.  Man's  chief  end  is  to  glorify 
God  and  to  enjoy  Him  forever  was  his  favorite  motto. 
"I  remain,  reverend  and  dear  sir,  respectfully  yours, 

"  Geo.  H.  Stuart." 


342  DOMESTIC   LIFE. 


Prosperity. 


CHAPTEE  XYIII. 

Sorrows. — Joys. — His  Family. -—The  Sickness  and  Death  of  six 
Children.  —  Letters  from  Drs.  A.  Alexander,  Miller,  and  J.  W. 
Alexander. — Effects  of  these  Afflictions. 

Great  trials  make  great  saints.  Dr.  Murray  was 
so  prospered  and  successful  in  his  career  that  he  need- 
ed afflictions,  many  and  often,  to  make  him  humble 
and  dependent.  From  the  time  that  he  gave  himself 
to  God  and  the  ministry  of  the  Word,  all  went  well 
with  him.  His  course  through  college  and  the  sem- 
inary was  a  constant  success ;  and  his  entrance  on  the 
pastoral  life  was  attended  with  circumstances  well  cal- 
culated to  exalt  him  above  measure.  His  services 
were  sought  for  so  many  different  fields  of  labor,  that 
he  might  be  easily  tempted  to  believe  that  he  was 
more  than  an  ordinary  man.  And  his  popularity 
grew  on  him  rapidly.  The  calls  that  he  received  to 
various  churches,  and  positions  of  responsibility  and 
honor  were  so  many,  that  it  would  have  been  no 
strange  thing  had  he  come  to  think  of  himself  more 
highly  than  he  ought  to  think.  And  as  he  advanced 
in  his  career,  he  became  so  marked  a  favorite  with 
the  public,  and  in  so  many  circles  of  society  he  was 
courted  and  flattered,  that  he  needed,  as  Paul  needed, 
a  constant  admonition  of  his  dependence  on  the  grace 
of  God, 

He  was  singularly  happy  in  his  domestic  relations. 


DOMESTIC   LIFE.  343 


The  husband's  crown.  At  home. 

Mrs.  Murray,  the  wife  of  his  youth  and  his  life,  com- 
bined in  a  degree,  as  beautiful  as  rare,  the  various 
graces  that,  when  blended,  make  the  wife  of  a  pastor 
her  husband's  crown.  Dr.  Murray  often  said  to  me, 
''  What  a  blessed  thing  it  is  to  have  a  wife  who  has 
common  sense !"  With  a  strong  and  well-cultivated 
intellect,  Mrs.  Murray  united  the  tenderness  of  an  af- 
fectionate disposition,  the  gentleness  and  delicacy  of 
a  refined  and  amiable  woman,  with  a  practical  busi- 
ness talent,  that  made  her  literally  a  help  meet  for 
such  a  man  as  her  husband.  She  doubled  all  his 
joys,  and  more  than  shared  his  cares ;  for,  in  a  meas- 
ure quite  unusual  with  the  wives  of  ministers,  she 
took  upon  herself  the  burden  of  domestic  life,  regu- 
lating the  household,  providing  for  its  wants,  and  re- 
lieving her  husband  of  the  necessity  of  seeing  many 
who  called  upon  him  in  hours  of  study,  answering 
multitudes  of  letters  for  him,  and  in  a  thousand  name- 
less ways  lightening  the  labors  that  were  laid  upon 
him.  He  appreciated  all  this  wealth  of  service,  and 
loved  to  speak  of  it  as  the  help  without  which  he 
would  have  been  utterly  unable  to  accomplish  the 
work  which  he  was  performing  for  his  own  Church 
and  the  world. 

His  domestic  circle  was  the  scene  of  his  highest 
and  most  complete  enjoyment.  In  the  sports  of  his 
little  ones,  frolicking  with  him  in  the  wildest  glee,  or 
in  the  pleasures  of  the  children  as  they  grew  to  be 
his  companions  in  his  hours  of  relaxation,  he  found 
the  sweetest  relief  from  the  toils  of  study.  His  chil- 
dren were  never  afraid  of  him,  but  they  always  loved 


841  DOMESTIC   LIFE. 


Playfulness.  Sorrows. 

him,  and  enjoyed  nothing  more  than  to  play  with 
him  when  it  was  his  time  to  play.  Eminently  com- 
panionable among  men  of  his  own  age,  calling,  and 
culture,  he  was  even  more  fond  of  the  society  of  the 
young,  who  were  always  at  home  with  him,  as  if  he 
were  a  father,  a  brother,  or  a  warm  personal  friend. 

It  was  necessary  to  develop  these  domestic  and  so- 
cial traits  of  character  to  prepare  us  to  understand 
the  nature  of  those  domestic  trials  through  which  he 
was  made  to  pass,  in  the  midst  of  his  arduous  and  ab- 
sorbing labors.  These  trials  were  the  deaths  of  six  be- 
loved children.  Few  parents  are  called  to  drink  so 
many  cups  of  sorrow.  Few  find  so  much  consolation 
and  draw  so  much  profit  from  the  lessons  of  aflliction. 

His  first-born  son  lived  but  a  few  weeks.  Its  death 
was  a  sore  disappointment,  and  a  sad  memento  of  the 
frailty  of  earthly  expectations.  After  prayer  by  the 
father  in  the  chamber  where  the  mother  was  still  sick, 
the  infant  of  days  was  buried  in  the  rear  of  the  new 
church  at  AVilkesbarre.  The  aflliction  had  a  very 
softening  and  subduing  effect  upon  his  spirit.  He 
preached  a  sermon  immediately  on  the  gift  of  God 
abounding  to  them  who  had  not  sinned  after  the  si- 
militude of  Adam's  transgression. 

On  the  day  that  this  first-born  son  was  buried,  his 
daughter  Elizabeth,  then  two  years  old,  was  attacked 
with  scarlet  fever,  and  for  many  weeks  was  so  ill  as 
to  require  constant  watching  for  her  life.  The  moth- 
er was  sick,  and  the  father  hung  with  double  solici- 
tude over  their  only  surviving  child.  It  pleased  God 
to  spare  her  life ;  but  when  health  returned  she  had 


DOMESTIC   LIFE.  846 


Second  Bon.  Children's  society. 

forgotten  bow  to  walk  and  to  talk.  And  "it  was 
amusing,"  says  one  who  observed  him,  "  to  see  her 
fond  father  giving  her  daily  lessons,  and  sharing,  for 
her  encouragement,  in  her  blunders." 

A  second  son  was  born  in  Elizabethtown,  December 
29th,  1833.  He  was  a  child  of  uncommon  personal 
beauty,  and,  if  not  sanctified  from  his  birth,  he  was, 
from  his  earliest  developments,  a  religious  boy.  Be- 
cause of  his  implicit  obedience,  his  parents  often  call- 
ed him  their  "  Casa  Bianca ;"  his  name  was  William 
Wilberforce.  For  eight  years  he  lived  the  joy  of  a 
father's  heart  and  the  light  of  his  eyes,  growing  con- 
stantly in  knowledge  and  in  favor  with  God  and  man. 
The  first  time  that  I  ever  saw  Dr.  Murray,  he  came  to 
my  house  with  this  son  in  the  summer  of  1841.  The 
memory  of  the  boy  is  fresh  in  my  mind  this  moment, 
so  deeply  was  I  then  impressed  with  the  loveliness 
of  his  person  and  the  sweetness  of  his  temper  as  he 
mingled  with  my  own  children. 

In  a  note  to  me  respecting  this  period  of  Dr.  Mur- 
ray's life,  Mrs.  Murray  says : 

"  Thanksgiving  day,  1841,  was  one  of  the  happiest 
of  our  lives.  Our  five  lovely  children  in  fine  health, 
and  the  pastor  as  beloved  as  he  was  useful  among  his 
flock.  Our  children,  as  a  thank-offering  to  God  for 
His  goodness,  formed  a  family  missionary  society. 
Willie  presided,  and  Lizzie  was  secretary ;  and  out  of 
this  grew  the  Juvenile  Foreign  Missionary  Society  of 
our  Church,  which  has  contributed  from  year  to  year, 
for  the  past  twenty,  an  average  of  over  one  hundred 
dollars  to  educate  heathen  children.     Several  of  the 

P2 


346  DOMESTIC   LIFE. 


Only  son  dies.  Dr.  A.  Alexander. 

children  educated  were  hopefully  converted,  and  died 
in  the  faith  of  the  Gospel.  It  was  at  this  time,  before 
death  had  desolated  our  happy  home,  that  a  friend, 
after  recalling  many  pleasant  early  recollections,  ask- 
ed if  childhood  was  not  the  most  joyous  season  of 
life.  '  I  never,'  replied  my  husband,  'knew  what  true 
happiness  was  until  surrounded  by  my  children.' " 

A  few  days  afterward  this  noble  boy,  the  only  son, 
sickened  of  scarlet  fever  and  died. 

Among  the  many  letters  of  sympathy  to  the  afflict- 
ed parents,  received  from  numerous  friends,  are  two 
or  three  of  permanent  and  general  interest,  and  the 
names  of  the  writers  are  so  fragrant  in  the  Church 
that  I  shall  copy  them  here : 

Letter  from  Archibald  Alexander^  D.D. 

"  Princeton,  Dec.  16th,  1811. 

"  Rev.  and  dear  Sir, — Before  I  received  your  let- 
ter of  yesterday,  I  had  heard  of  the  heartrending 
affliction  with  which  it  hath  pleased  our  heavenly 
Father  to  visit  you,  and  ever  since  you  and  Mrs. 
Murray  have  been  much  on  my  mind.  Last  night  I 
waked  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  and  almost  the  first 
thought  which  occurred  was  your  sore  bereavement. 
Well  did  the  sacred  writer  understand  the  poignancy 
of  human  grief  when  he  compares  the  bitter  anguish 
of  the  mourning  penitent  to  the  sorrow  of  one  who 
has  lost  a  first-horn  or  only  son.  I  knew  that  this 
must  be  a  desolating  stroke  to  your  feelings,  as  I 
observed  that  ^-our  affections  were  strongly  twined 
around  the  child,  so  that  your  life  seemed  to  be,  as  it 


DOMESTIC   LIFE.  347 


An  idol. 


were,  '  bound  up  in  the  life  of  the  lad.'  Perhaps,  in- 
deed, without  knowing  it,  you  made  him  too  much 
of  an  idol,  and  therefore  he  was  snatched  away  from 
you.  lie  was,  indeed,  a  lovely  child ;  but  such  are 
so  far  from  being  exempt  from  the  shafts  of  death, 
that  they  are  more  frequently  the  objects  of  his  re- 
lentless stroke.  Precocious  children,  who  are  at  the 
same  time  susceptible  of  tender  religious  impressions, 
seldom  are  permitted  to  grow  up  to  manhood.  They 
are  taken  away  from  the  evil  to  come.  They  are  car- 
ried into  a  purer  and  more  salubrious  atmosphere  to 
complete  their  education.  Christ  says,  'Suffer  little 
children  to  come  unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not,  for  of 
such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven.'  Thus  spake  He 
when  on  earth.  And  now,  methinks.  He  loves  to 
have  the  dear  little  ones  who  believe  in  Him  where 
He  is,  that  He  may  take  them  in  His  arms  and  bless 
them.  He  delighted  to  hear  their  young  voices  sing- 
ing Jiosannah  when  He  made  His  royal  entry  into  Je- 
rusalem, and  still  He  delights  to  have  a  choir  of  such 
to  'perfect  His  praise'  in  the  temple  above.  You 
would  not  have  hesitated  to  give  up  your  son  to  be 
under  the  tuition  of  the  best  earthly  teacher;  and, 
whatever  natural  affection  may  say,  faith  says  it  is  far 
better  to  be  absent  from  the  body  and  present  with 
the  Great  Teacher.  While  his  life  hung  in  jeopardy, 
and  you  knew  not  what  your  Father's  will  might  be, 
deep  anxiety  was  natural ;  but  now,  since  the  child  is 
dead,  and  the  will  of  God  is  manifest,  do  like  David 
under  a  similar  stroke :  when  he  '  perceived  that  the 
child  was  dead,  he  arose  from  the  earth,  and  washed 


348  DOMESTIC   LIFE. 


Cowper's  hymn. 


and  anointed  himself,  and  changed  his  apparel,  and 
came  into  the  house  of  the  Lord  and  worshiped ;  then 
he  came  to  his  own  house,  and  when  he  required  they 
set  bread  before  him,  and  he  did  eat.  Then  said  his 
servants  unto  him.  What  thing  is  this  that  thou  hast 
done — thou  didst  fast  and  weep  for  the  child  while  it 
was  alive,  but  when  the  child  was  dead  thou  didst 
rise  and  eat  bread?  And  he  said.  While  the  child 
was  yet  alive,  I  fasted  and  wept ;  for  I  said,  who  can 
tell  whether  God  will  be  gracious  to  me,  that  the 
child  may  live?  But  now  he  is  dead,  wherefore 
should  I  fast?  Can  I  bring  him  back  again?  I  shall 
go  to  him,  hut  he  shall  not  return  to  me.^ 

"Bead  Cowper's  hymn,  *God  moves  in  a  mysterious 
way,'  etc.  Christ  seems  to  say,  '  What  I  do  you  know 
not  now,  but  you  shall  know  hereafter.  All  things 
work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love  God.'  But 
I  need  not  cite  texts;  you  know  them.  Yet  some- 
times, when  proposed  by  another,  they  take  effect.  I 
have  sent  you  a  little  book,  in  which  nearly  all  the 
texts  suited  to  the  case  have  been  classed  and  ar- 
ranged by  J.  W.  A.  when  he  had  suffered  under  such 
a  stroke. 

"I  regret  that  I  am  unable  to  visit  you  in  this  time 
of  sorrow,  but  I  have  made  an  engagement  to  preach 
at  Lawrence,  where  there  is  more  than  usual  serious- 
ness. James  expresses  tender  sympathy — seemed  at 
first  to  be  willing  to  go — but  he  is  unwell,  and  has 
just  now  double  duty  in  college,  which  he  can  not 
leave  without  deranging  their  whole  system.  He  says 
he  will  write.     I  sent  your  letter  to  Dr.  Miller.     I 


DOMESTIC   LIFE.  349 


Dr.  Miller. 


have  just  received  his  answer,  saying,  '  I  deeply  sym- 
pathize with  Mr.  Murray,  and  would  willingly  go  to 
Elizabethtown,  but  expeditions  of  this  kind  at  this 
season  of  the  year  are  particularly  perilous  to  me.' 
You  perceive,  then,  that  though  you  can  have  our 
sympathy  and  prayers,  you  can  not  have  our  aid  in 
the  pulpit.  But  you  will  not  need  it;  the  Lord  will 
strengthen  you.  His  promise  is,  'As  is  your  day,  so 
shall  your  strength  be;  my  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee, 
and  my  strength  is  perfected  in  thy  weakness.' 

"With  kind  respects  to  Mrs.  M.,  I  am  your  affec- 
tionate brother,  A.  Alexander." 

Letter  from  Samuel  Millei',  D.D. 

"Princeton,  December  16th,  1841. 

"My  dear  Brother, —  Mrs.  Miller  and  myself, 
with  our  whole  hearts,  sympathize  with  you  and  your 
excellent  companion  in  your  late  heavy  bereavement. 
We  had  heard  of  the  illness  and  death  of  your  beloved 
boy  before  the  arrival  of  your  letter.  We  know  how 
to  feel  for  you.  Our  first-born  son,  nearly  of  the  same 
age,  was  taken  from  us  nearly  thirty  years  ago.  We 
found  it  hard  to  say  from  the  heart,  '  The  Lord  gave, 
and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away ;  blessed  be  the  name 
of  the  Lord  ;'  yet  I  hope  we  were  enabled,  in  some  de- 
gree, to  say  it  sincerely.  And  now,  when  we  think 
that  that  dear  boy  has  gone  before  us  to  glory ;  that 
he  escaped  the  toils  and  sorrows  of  this  corrupt,  in- 
snaring  world ;  and  that  he  is  now  far  above  us  in 
knowledge,  and  in  conformity  to  Him  who  loved  us, 
and  gave  Himself  for  us,  I  trust  we  can  more  than  ac- 


350  DOMESTIC   LIFE. 


Consolation.  Dr.  J.  W.  Alexander. 

quiesce  in  the  Divine  will — that  we  can  cordially  re- 
joice that  our  beloved  Edward  is  infinitely  better  off 
than  if  he  had  been  permitted  to  live,  as  we  then 
wished.  I  do  not  expect,  dear  brother,  to  stop  your 
flowing  tears.  Nature  will  feel,  ought  to  feel ;  and  we, 
as  well  as  other  friends,  feel  with  you  ;  but  is  not  your 
dear  son  with  his  and  your  Father?  Can  you  long 
weep  when  you  recollect  what  he  has  escaped  and 
what  he  has  gained?  May  the  Lord  pour  into  your 
heart,  and  that  of  your  companion,  those  rich  conso- 
lations which  I  know  you  recognize  and  love,  but 
which,  alas !  the  pleadings  of  nature  often  prevent  our 
viewing  at  once  in  all  their  unsearchable  riches. 

"  Dr.  Alexander  sent  your  letter  to  me,  being  him- 
self under  an  engagement,  and  his  son  James  not  be- 
ing well,  and  also  under  an  engagement.  I  should  be 
glad  to  spend  the  next  Sabbath  with  you,  at  once  to 
weep  with  you,  and  rejoice  in  hope  of  glory.  But  my 
growing  infirmities,  my  exceedingly  delicate  health, 
and  the  perils  which  now  attend  my  undertaking  any 
such  expedition  at  this  season  of  the  year,  all  conspire 
to  forbid  my  venturing  on  the  journey. 

"  I  am,  my  dear  afflicted  brother,  with  sincere  re- 
gard to  you  and  Mrs.  Murray,  your  affectionate  broth- 
er, Samuel  Miller." 

Letter  from  James  W.  Alexander,  D.D. 

"  My  dear  Brother  Murray, — I  have  heard  of 

your  great  bereavement,  and  you  will  believe  me  when 

I  say  I  sympathize  in  no  ordinary  degree  with  you 

and  your  dear  wife.     The  heart  of  a  father  I  know, 


DOMESTIC  LIFE.  351 


Condolence.  Samuel  Rutherford. 

but  the  heart  of  a  mother  surely  I  pretend  not  to  un- 
derstand. And  now  what  shall  I  say  to  you  ?  What 
can  any  one  but  God  say  to  you  ?  You  have  already 
found  the  voice  of  human  condolence  all  vain,  yet 
there  is  a  satisfaction  even  in  the  pressure  of  a  broth- 
erly hand,  and  this  is  all  I  have  to  offer.  May  the 
God  of  our  children,  and  our  own  God,  stanch  your 
wound,  and  pour  in  the  balm  of  Gospel  comfort !  I 
have  been  in  these  waters,  my  dear  brother  and  sister, 
'And  I  said,  my  strength  and  my  hope  is  perished 
from  the  Lord ;  remembering  mine  affliction  and  my 
misery,  the  wormwood  and  the  gall.  My  soul  hath 
them  still  in  remembrance,  and  is  humbled  in  me.' 
Your  sweet  boy  has  escaped  this,  yea,  every  sorrow. 
What  an  escape !  His  salvation  is  no  more  a  matter 
of  doubt  or  prayer ;  an  everlasting  smile  is  upon  his 
angelic  countenance.  Oh,  let  us  not  wish  him  back 
on  this  sea  of  tempest  and  shipwreck ! 

"  Let  me  quote  a  few  sentences  from  the  letters  of 
heavenly  Samuel  Rutherford :  '  Your  Lord  may  gath- 
er His  own  roses  and  shake  His  apples  at  what  season 
of  the  year  He  pleaseth.'  '  The  child  hath  but  changed 
a  bed  in  the  garden,  and  is  planted  up  nearer  the  sun, 
where  he  shall  thrive  better  than  in  this  out-field 
moor-ground.  You  must  think  your  Lord  would  not 
lack  him  one  hour  longer,  and  since  the  loan  of  him 
was  expired  (as  it  is,  if  you  read  in  the  lease),  let  Him 
have  His  own  with  gain.'  '  Something  of  yours  is  in 
heaven  besides  the  flesh  of  your  exalted  Savior,  and  ye 
go  on  after  your  own.'  '  If  he  hath  cast  his  bloom  and 
flower,  the  bloom  is  fallen  in  heaven  in  Christ's  lap.' 


352  DOMESTIC   LIFE. 


Sorrow  on  sorrow.  Anna  Rhees. 

"  Oh,  my  friends,  be  comforted  with  the  views, 
which  I  am  sure  are  the  life  of  your  souls,  and  which 
show  you  the  face  of  a  tender  Father  behind  this 
chastising  power.  How  greatly  I  regret  that  it  is  im- 
possible for  me  to  be  with  you.  A  mere  inconven- 
ience should  not  detain  me ;  but  our  arrangements  in 
college  are  such  that  I  should  lose  the  only  exercise  I 
have  in  the  week  with  the  Senior  class,  and  a  still 
more  important  service  on  Monday  morning.  I  am 
also  quite  unwell,  and  should  not  dare  to  go  unless 
the  weather  changes. 

"  Be  assured  of  the  affectionate  interest  we  all  feel 
in  your  trial.  Present  me  kindly  to  your  suffering 
wife,  and  believe  me  yours  in  Gospel  bonds, 

"  James  W.  Alexander. 

"Princeton,  17th  December,  1841." 

This  was  his  first  great  bereavement,  to  be  followed 
by  sorrow  upon  sorrow,  until,  in  deep  humility,  he  was 
heard  to  ask,  "Wherefore  contendest  Thou  with  me?" 
The  lovely  boy,  so  suddenly  snatched  from  the  family 
circle,  had  given,  in  his  dying  hours,  expression  to  a 
strong  faith  in  God,  and  loving  preference  to  be  with 
Him,  well  calculated  to  soothe  the  anguish  of  his  fa- 
ther's heart,  and  prepare  him  for  still  greater  trials  of 
faith  and  patience.  One  after  another  of  his  children 
and  servants  sickened  with  the  dreadful  disease  then 
passing  like  a  scourge  through  the  land.  On  the  14th 
day  of  January,  1842,  one  month  after  she  had  fol- 
lowed her  brother  to  the  grave,  Anna  Ehees,  aged  six 
years,  died.     She  had  inherited  from  her  father  a  large 


DOMESTIC   LIFE.  353 


Silent  sympathy.  Dark  hour. 

share  of  bis  Irish  character,  frank,  and  full  of  mirthful- 
ness,  and  was  warmly  loved  in  the  congregation.  On 
the  same  day  her  father  writes :  "  Our  beautiful,  eccen- 
tric, and  ethereal  Annie  has  left  us,  singing,  as  she  as- 
cended to  heaven  to  unite  with  "Willie  in  the  unend- 
ing song, '  Unto  Him  who  hath  loved  us,  and  washed 
us  in  His  own  blood.' "  Thus  faded  on  earth  another 
of  the  beautiful  buds  of  promise  God  had  so  gracious- 
ly given  His  servant.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Archibald  Alex- 
ander, very  tenderly  affected  by  the  multiplied  afflic- 
tions of  his  young  friend,  came  to  Elizabethtown  to 
preach  the  funeral  sermon.  Dr.  Murray  often  said  he 
owed  much  to  that  visit;  it  taught  him  how  little 
need  be  said  to  persons  in  affliction.  After  a  warm 
pressure  of  the  hand,  the  venerable  man  sat  down,  si- 
lently seeming  to  enter  into  the  feelings  of  the  afflict- 
ed parents.  He  then  remarked  that  although  Job's 
friends  were  very  foolish  in  their  speeches  to  him,  they 
were  wise  in  their  silence.  God  speaks  at  such  a  time, 
and  man  need  not. 

This  was  a  dark  and  trying  hour.  The  hand  of 
God  seemed  to  be  resting  heavily  on  the  house  of  his 
servant.  To  preserve  the  health  and  lives  of  the  rest 
of  the  children,  it  was  thought  prudent  for  the  family 
to  go  to  Philadelphia  for  a  season.  They  went.  Mr. 
Murray  remained,  and  gave  himself  with  intense  de- 
votion to  his  work.  Soon  the  darkness  gave  way  to 
dawning  and  advancing  light.  The  Spirit  of  God  was 
poured  out  upon  the  Church,  and  many  souls  were 
converted.  The  seriousness  was  generally  attributed 
to  the  deep  sympathy  of  the  people  with  the  pastor  in 


354  DOMESTIC   LIFE. 


Mai'garet  B.  Catharine  L. 

his  sorrows,  and,  without  doubt,  it  was  the  fruit  of  his 
increased  spirituality  and  zeal  in  the  ministry  of  the 
Word.  He  could  now  comprehend  the  design  of  the 
afflictions  that  had  come  with  such  fearful  frequency 
and  power.  Always  afterward  he  was  wont  to  say 
to  others  and  to  himself,  in  seasons  of  great  sorrow, 
"Work — work  for  God  and  man.  Pour  blessings 
round  you.     This  will  soothe  your  woe." 

In  the  month  of  March  ten  new  converts  were  add- 
ed to  the  Church ;  at  the  next  communion  season  in 
July,  forty-four ,  and  in  September,  eighteen ;  making 
seventy-two  conversions  as  the  result  of  a  good  work 
that  had  its  beginning  in  the  sorrows  of  the  pastor's 
house  and  heart. 

Margaret  Breckinridge  was  born  in  August,  18-i3, 
and  for  seven  years  was  a  bright  and  beautiful  star  in 
the  heaven  of  this  home.  She  died  of  croup,  January 
2, 1851.  This  was  the  fourth  child  that  Dr.  Murray 
had  laid  in  the  grave ;  but  his  cup  was  not  yet  full. 
These  trials  were  all  doing  good,  working  out  the 
sanctification  of  the  bereaved  father,  and  fitting  him 
for  still  greater  usefulness.  Yet  the  Lord  had  other 
and  still  greater  trials  in  store,  and  they  came  in  their 
order,  increasing  in  severity,  as  he  had  grace  to  bear 
them  and  improve  them. 

In  the  year  1847,  a  daughter,  Catharine  Loxley,  was 
born.  As  she  grew  in  years,  she  seemed  to  her  loving 
father  to  include  all  that  he  thought  lovely  and  prom- 
ising in  William  and  Anna  who  had  been  taken  away. 
Perhaps  the  traits  which  she  developed,  reminding 
him  of  those  who  had  gone  before,  drew  his  heart  with 


DOMESTIC   LIFE.  855 


Clashed.  jl,.g  Duncan. 


peculiar  tenderness  of  afifection  toward  this  child,  and 
made  him  dote  upon  her  more  than  on  any  other  one 
in  his  little  flock.  And  so  she  died  early.  Only  six 
years  she  lived  and  gladdened  the  house  with  her 
love,  and  then  Death  came  and  took  her  to  the  family, 
now  rapidly  becoming  the  most  numerous,  in  heaven. 
It  was  this  blow  that  dissolved  the  ties  that  bound 
him  to  the  world.  Henceforth  he  was  emphatically 
another  man.  His  grief  was  great  beyond  expression. 
I  remember  how  he  fell  on  my  neck,  and  wept  like  a 
child,  when  I  entered  his  house,  while  the  lamb  was 
waiting  its  burial.  It  was  heart-breaking  to  see  a 
strong  man  so  crushed  in  grief. 

Mrs.  Duncan,  of  Edinburgh,  whose  visit  to  this 
country  will  be  remembered  with  delight  by  many 
friends,  and  whose  name  is  imperishably  associated 
with  that  of  her  accomplished  daughter,  Mary  Lundie 
Duncan,  wrote  to  the  family  on  the  occasion  of  this 
bereavement,  and  I  venture  to  copy  a  few  lines  from 
her  letter : 

"  7  India  Street,  Edinburgh,  February  12,  1852. 

"  My  very  dear  Friend,— I  do  not  know  in  what 
strain  to  address  you,  yet  I  can  not  stay.  Ever  since 
dear  Miss  L.'s  letter,  so  touching  and  so  descriptive, 
has  reached  my  hand,  I  have  been  thinking,  and  dream- 
ing of,  and  praying  for  you  all.  That  bright  sunbeam 
of  the  sweet  dwelling,  with  her  considering  critical 
eye,  her  shrewd  observations,  her  ready  kindness,  I 
see  her  before  me.  One  that  I  thought  would  forget 
me  presently,  but  whom  I  should  not  forget  So  her 
dear  light  is  quenched  to  you !     I  can  not  forbid  you 


356  DOMESTIC   LIFE. 


David's  case.  God's  jewels. 

to  weep,  for  I  too  am  weeping.  Yet  how  far  has  she 
got  before  you  all!  The  guiding  parents,  in  whose 
words  she  had  such  implicit  faith,  are  but  babes  in 
knowledge  to  her  now.  How  soothing  and  sweet  has 
she  found  the  verification  of  His  word,  who  gathers 
the  lambs  in  His  arms,  and  bears  them  in  His  bosom ! 
She  has  not  shed  one  tear  for  want  of  her  own  be- 
loved mother,  however  many  you  may  have  shed  for 
her.  Precious  revelations  are  they  to  which  our 
hearts  greedily  hold  in  times  of  separation  and  sor- 
row. My  dear  friends,  I  entreat  you  not  to  spend 
time  in  pitying  yourselves  as  bereaved.  We  are  apt, 
when  we  have  had  trouble  and  pleasure  in  our  off- 
spring, and  have  laid  hold  on  them  with  strong  ap- 
propriating affection,  to  be  inclined  to  say  with  David 
in  his  perplexity,  'Surely  Thou  hast  made  all  men  in 
vain.' 

"  But  let  our  darkened  spirits  be  hushed,  and  let 
us  reason  on  His  wisdom,  and  love,  and  purposes. 
Looking  out  of  our  own  rifled  nest,  let  us,  by  faith, 
behold  the  store-house  where  our  God  treasures  up 
His  jewels.  How  many  have  you  and  I  there? 
Who  ransomed  and  placed  them  there  ?  Who  made 
them  so  bright?  Could  we  have  won  crowns  and 
palms  for  them  ?  We  would,  if  our  will  had  been 
done,  have  detained  them  to  struggle,  to  sin,  and  re- 
pent, and  weep,  and  hope,  and  fear  as  we  do.  And 
we  would  have  left  them  behind  us  to  mourn  for  us. 
Is  it  not  safer  for  them  to  sin  never  again — to  weep 
never  again  ?  We  are  not  going  to  be  selfish  par- 
ents ;  our  love  for  them  forbids  it.     I  have  sometimes 


DOMESTIC   LIFE.  357 


Othera  eparetL 


said  I  could  bear  to  part  with  them  all  if  I  knew  they 
were  with  Jesus.     One  knows  not  what  they  could 
not  bear,  the  Lord  sustaining.     Yet,  while  I  think  of 
little,  beaming,  sincere  Kate,  with  her  clear  eye  and 
her  chestnut  curls,  my  tears  run  down  for  you.     She 
was  not  born  in  vain.     She  has  been  taken  '  home  to 
heaven,'  and  she  has  not  still  to  die  as  all  of  us  have. 
Holier,  safer,  happier  far  than  any  of  us,  we  must  not 
mourn,  but  give  thanks  about  her  and  for  her.     Are 
you  not  rich  to  have  so  many  in  heaven  ?     Feeling 
flies  out  and  will  have  its  way,  but  reason  calmly 
weighs  it  down,  while  the  Comforter  tells  you  all  is 
well  with  the  child. 

"With  ourselves  there  is  much  to  be  done,  and 
much  depends  upon  the  uses  made  of  affliction.     My 
mind  flits  from  the  very  affectionate  father,  bowing  to 
the  blow,  and  saying,  '  I  shall  go  to  them— the  will 
of  the  Lord  be  done;'  to  the  dear,  shaken,  trembhng 
mother,  with  her  weary  frame,  her  imagination  full 
of  images  of  hours  of  pain,  and  her  heart  full  of  sor- 
rows ;  to  the  young  group  looking  at  the  desolation, 
and  wondering  who  shall  go  next.     When  our  God 
wounds  a  Christian  family.  He  has  a  right  to  expect 
fruit  of  His  stripes.     Ah  !  dear  children,  I  have  been 
trying  to  join  the  petitions  of  your  beloved  parents, 
that  the  death  of  the  darling's  earthly  part  may  be  the 
life  of  your  souls.     Do  not  pass  this  dark  mark  in 
your  journey  without  turning  to  the  Lord  with  all 
your  hearts.     Let  it  be  said,  the  little  sister  is  dead, 
but  the  elder  three  and  the  brothers  are  alive.     They 
have  found  the  life  of  their  souls.    *    *    *    * 


358  DOMESTIC  LIFE. 


Prayer  answered. 


^^Ajml  16ih.  Your  little  ones.  Oh,  how  gladly 
would  many  mourning  parents  have  parted  with 
theirs  when  they  were  little !  One  looks  around  on 
the  griefs  of  Christian  parents,  and  sees  what  afflic- 
tions far  heavier  than  death  are  in  the  wilderness. 
Then,  if  the  death  of  one  is  the  new  life  of  another — 
if  the  perishing  loses  its  worth  in  the  eyes  of  one  dear 
child  by  reason  of  the  quick  removal  of  another,  is 
there  not  cause  of  much  joy  and  praise  ?  I  often  fancy 
dear  Kate.  There  was  something  of  deep  thought 
and  feeling  between  her  eyes  and  hair,  simple,  yet 
most  unlike  a  child.  Do  you  not  often  observe  that 
children  early  removed  have  an  aspect  of  feeling  quite 
peculiar?  Such  was  hers.  Her  simple  confiding  in 
our  God,  so  little  cause  to  shrink  by  sin  on  her  con- 
science, her  certainty  of  being  safe  and  at  home  with 
Him  whom  she  only  regarded  as  a  higher  Father,  all 
that  was  about  her  so  fit  to  touch  the  hearts  of  the 
young  people. 

"  I  trust  a  great  blessing  will  fall  on  that  peaceful 
study  and  these  young  seekers  for  truth,  and  that 
your  newly-adorned  Church  will  be  quickly  filled  with 
songs  of  praise  more  humbly  joyful  than  you  ever  had 
before," 

This  praj^er  was  answered  by  the  refreshing  which 
continued  throughout  the  coming  year,  and  which 
brought  into  the  communion  of  the  Church,  among 
many  other  spiritual  children,  the  pastor's  daughter. 

Yet  a  greater  sorrow  was  still  in  reserve.  All 
these  had  died  in  early  childhood  ;  the  first  but  three 


DOMESTIC   LIFE.'  359 


Her  grnce. 


weeks  in  life,  and  none  of  them  more  than  eight  years. 
Elizabeth  was  the  first-born  child ;  she  had  grown  to 
be  the  companion  and  counselor  of  her  parents,  the 
pride  and  joy  of  the  social  and  domestic  circle,  and  the 
delight  of  a  host  of  admiring  friends.  From  a  child 
she  had  been  in  delicate  health.  Her  complexion  was 
so  white,  and  contrasted  so  vividly  with  the  bright- 
ness of  her  beautiful  eyes,  that  no  one  could  see  her 
without  being  at  once  interested  in  her  ajDpearance. 
Hopeful,  cheerful,  and  patient  under  sufferings  pain- 
fully acute  and  long  endured,  her  very  feebleness  had 
made  her  a  loving  burden  on  her  parents'  hearts,  who, 
year  by  year,  watched  her  with  fond  solicitude.  To 
personal  attractions  she  added  the  charms  of  a  highly- 
cultivated  mind,  and  manners  polished  by  wide  asso- 
ciations with  the  most  refined  and  accomplished  soci- 
ety. In  the  hope  of  finding  benefit  from  the  voyage 
and  foreign  travel,  she  accepted  an  invitation  from 
Daniel  James,  Esq.,  of  Liverpool,  a  life-time  friend  of 
her  father,  to  visit  him  in  the  Old  "World.  She  travel- 
ed in  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland,  spending  much 
of  her  time  in  the  enjoyment  of  social  intercourse  with 
some  of  the  best  people  on  the  earth.  With  the  fam- 
ily of  Mr.  James  she  visited  the  Continent,  and  re- 
joiced among  the  beauty  and  grandeur  of  the  Rhine 
and  Switzerland.  Returning  home  with  health  im- 
proved, she  devoted  herself  to  the  duties  of  a  daugh- 
ter in  her  father's  house,  gladdening  all  his  days,  and 
ministering  as  she  could  to  lighten  his  labors.  Hav- 
ing known  her  well  and  long,  I  speak  thus  freely  and 
confidently  of  the  treasure  which  Dr.  Murray  had  in 


360  DOMESTIC   LIFE. 


this  beauuful  and  precious  daugliicr.  Bui  ii  was  a 
treasure  in  a  verr  frail  vessel.  She  was  so  spi'ri'iueUe 
to  look  upon  that  she  seemed  to  be  rather  of  heaven 
than  earth.  And  it  was  strange  that  she  lived  with 
us  so  long,  rather  than  that  she  died  so  soon.  It  was 
the  first  dav  of  the  summer  of  ISoS,  when,  just  as  the 
sun  was  rising,  she  breathed  out  her  spirit  on  the 
breast  of  her  Eedeemer ;  and  those  eves,  so  long  closed 
to  external  objects,  were  opened  '*  to  behold  the  King 
in  his  beauty."  It  was  a  solemn  hour  of  mingled 
peace  and  joy  with  the  bitterness  of  bereavement 
when  Dr.  Murray  knelt  by  the  side  of  his  first-bom 
and  long-cherished  child,  to  thank  God,  who  had  given 
her  the  victory  over  death,  and  for  all  the  precious 
memories  connected  with  her  life.  This  was  his  last 
offering  to  Heaven. 

We  have  accompanied  the  father  to  the  grave  with 
six  children.  Four  only  out  of  ten  survived.  Re- 
peated and  dreadful  were  these  bereavements,  but 
they  were,  doubtless,  just  the  sorrows  that  Infinite 
Wisdom,  in  infinite  love,  devised  for  Dr.  Murray's  per- 
sonal advancement  in  the  life  divine,  and  his  highest 
preparation  for  the  work  he  was  called  to  do. 

These  afflictions  softened,  humbled,  and  purified 
him.  God  put  forth  His  hand  and  touched  him  just 
where  he  was  most  tender  and  exposed,  and  the  fruits 
of  gentleness  and  love,  of  increasing  spirituality  and 
devotion,  bore  witness  to  the  virtue  of  the  affliction 
with  which  it  pleased  his  heavenly  Father  to  visit 
him. 


LAST  DAYS  AND   HOURS.  361 

Bevived.  I.,ook  up. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

A  new  Baptism. — Words  of  Cheer. — Extracts  from  his  Journal. — 
Exposure  to  Cold. —  Paroxysms  of  Fain. —  Faints  and  revives. — 
Farewell  to  Friends. — Dying  Prayer  and  Benediction. — Funeral. 

The  close  of  Dr.  Murray's  life  was  in  keeping  with 
its  steady  onward,  upward  course.  During  his  last 
visit  to  Ireland,  amid  scenes  of  revival,  he  received  a 
new  baptism  of  the  Spirit,  and  returned  home  with  a 
burning  desire  to  see  among  his  own  people,  and  in 
this  country,  the  "Word  of  the  Lord  glorified  as  it  was 
in  Ireland  and  Wales.  For  this  end  he  labored,  and 
prayed  with  increased  zeal  and  love. 

Earthly  cares  were  no  longer  a  hinderance  to  him ; 
and  to  a  friend  laboring  under  their  burden,  he  said, 
"  Look  up ;  your  treasures  are  not  here ;  where  Christ 
lives,  we  live ;  our  children  are  with  Him  in  heaven ; 
soon  we  shall  have  finished  our  work.  I  am  a  work- 
ing-man as  well  as  you,  and  I  do  not  go  bowed  down, 
looking  into  the  grave.  Your  daughter  is  not  there ; 
mine  is  not  there.  Be  cheerful ;  let  us  work  for  God, 
and  soon  we  shall  be  with  them."  And  these  words, 
spoken  in  the  street,  were  blessed  to  a  bereaved,  weary 
pilgrim,  who,  leaving  his  burden  at  the  foot  of  the 
Cross,  went  on  his  way  rejoicing,  and  continues  to 
bless  God  for  that  casual  meeting. 

Dr.  Murray  had  been  often  heard  to  say  "he  would 
rather  wear  out  than  rust  out,"  and  "  that  he  hoped  to 

Q 


362  LAST  DAYS  AND  HOURS. 

Diary.  End  coming. 

lay  aside  his  armor  only  on  the  brink  of  the  grave." 
That  wish  was  literally  fulfilled ;  for  so  brief  was  the 
sickness  that  terminated  his  useful  career,  that  we 
pause  but  a  moment  to  listen  to  the  words  of  the  dy- 
ing before  we  hear  the  song  of  the  redeemed. 

Dr.  Murray's  systematic  habit  of  jotting  down  the 
little  thmgs  of  each  day  affords  us  a  glimpse  of  his  act- 
ive, busy  life  for  a  few  weeks  previous  to  its  close. 
To  show  how  many  and  varied  were  his  engagements, 
and  the  effect  of  such  constant  exposure  on  his  health, 
we  copy  a  few  extracts  from  his  Diary,  from  January 
1st,  1862,  to  February  1st,  when  he  laid  aside  his  pen 
for  the  last  time. 

Jan.  I.  A  beautiful  day.  A  good  congregation.  Many  calls.  A  glo- 
rious meeting  in  the  First  Church  to-day.  The  first  time  in  all  its 
history  it  was  declared  out  of  debt,  with  a  balance  in  the  treasury, 
with  a  yearly  income  to  meet  all  its  expenditures,  and  about  four 
thousand  dollars  in  funds  for  the  poor,  and  to  keep  the  grave-yard 
in  repair. 

Jan.  2  and  3.  [He  notices  the  arrival  and  departure  of  friends,  and 
many  calls  made  among  his  people.] 

Jan.  4.  National  fast  held  with  great  solemnity.  This  is  a  memora- 
ble day — the  nation  in  convulsions  !  South  Carolina  has  seceded, 
and  secession  seems  the  order  of  the  day,  and  the  prevailing  sen- 
timent of  the  Southern  people.  President  Buchanan  appointed 
this  as  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer  as  to  the  affairs  of  the  nation. 
The  day  was  remarkably  kept  here.  The  various  churches  met  by 
themselves  in  the  morning,  and  there  was  a  crowded  meeting  in 
the  Second  Church  in  the  afternoon.  If  the  day  was  kept  all  over 
the  country  as  here,  it  must  have  been  a  remarkable  day  of  prayer. 

Jan.  5,  Saturday.  Very  pleasant.  Commenced  a  series  of  sermons 
on  "Things  unseen  and  eternal." 

Jan.  G.  A  beautiful  Sabbath.  Preached  twice.  Good  monthly  con- 
cert. 


LAST  DAYS  AND  HOURS.  363 

Goes  to  Hartford.  Returns. 

Jan.  7.  Very  unpleasant  day.  Good  ministers'  meeting.  Union 
prayer-meeting  in  the  Baptist  Church.  Not  many  present,  but 
good  and  solemn. 

Jan.  8.  Pleasant,  though  cloudy.  Excellent  Union  meetings  in  the 
First  Church  afternoon  and  evening. 

Jan.  9.  Went  to  New  York  in  a  snow-storm.  Attended  a  good  meet- 
ing in  the  Methodist  Church  in  the  evening. 

Jan.  10.  Fair.     Union  meetings  in  the  Third  Church. 

Jan.  1 1.  Meetings  in  the  Second  Church.     Well  attended. 

[This  week  of  prayer  was  one  long  to  be  remembered  in  the  Church 

of  Elizabeth.     The  earnest  tenderness  of  Dr.  Murray's  manner,  and 

the  faithfulness  of  his  addresses  to  the  people,  and  solemnity  in  prayer, 

were  frequently  spoken  of.] 

[On  Saturday,  the  12th,  he  left  home,  at  no  small  personal  sacrifice, 

to  meet  an  engagement  for  the  American  Tract  Society  in  Hartford. 

He  then  remarked,  "  They  were  among  my  first  friends,  and  I  can 

not  refuse  them  their  fast  request."     The  visit  was  in  every  respect 

pleasant,  and  gratefully  remembered.     His  own  brief  record  says, 

"  Left  home  at  9  A.M.     Called  at  the  Tract  and  Bible  House.     Took 

cars  for  Hartford  at  12  15.     Reached  there  at  5  P.M.     Went  to  Mr. 

Childs's.     Mr.  Eastman  and  Nixon  called  in  the  evening."] 

Jan.  13.  Preached  in  the  morning  for  Mr.  Childs  ;  afternoon  for  Mr. 
Beadle.  In  the  evening,  spoke  at  the  Tract  meeting  in  the  Central 
Church.     A  very  cold  day. 

Jan.  14.  Left  Hartford  at  1  P.M.,  and  reached  home  at  7i.  Cold 
and  snowy. 

Jan.  15.  Went  in  the  afternoon  to  Bergen.  Took  tea  at  Mr.  Park- 
er's. Lectured  in  the  lecture-room  at  7i  P.M.  Returned  home  in 
the  night  train.     The  evening  very  unpleasant. 

Jan.  16.  Verj'  stormy.  Rev.  Mr.  Crittenden  here.  Made  some  calls 
— one  at  the  Orphan  Asylum. 

Jan.  17.  Very  fine.  Went  to  Trenton,  to  meeting  of  the  Historical 
Society.  Pleasant  meeting.  Presided  in  the  afternoon.  Returned 
in  the  evening  train. 

Jan.  18.  In  the  study  all  day.     Very  stormy.    Wrote  letters  in  the  af- 
ternoon. 
Jan.  20.  Pleasant,  though  cloudy.     Preached  twice,  and,  not  feeling 
well,  staid  at  home  in  the  evening.     Congregations  full  and  solemn. 


364  LAST  DAYS  AND   HOURS. 

Sermon.  Last  Sabbath. 

[His  text  on  that  day  was  from  Isaiah,  55th  chapter,  11th  verse : 
"The  word  of  the  Lord  shall  not  return  unto  Him  void,"  etc.  He  ex- 
temporized in  these  sermons  a  very  aflfecting  view  of  his  ministry  for 
nearly  twenty-eight  years,  its  success  and  its  failure  ;  leaving  the  fruit 
to  depend  on  the  assured  promise  that  God  would  accomplish  what 
He  pleased,  and  that  it  should  still  "prosper  in  the  thing  whereto  He 
sent  it."] 
Jan.  2L  Bright  day.     Visited  the  sick.     Had  a  good  prayer- meeting. 

Dined  with  my  family  at  Mr.  De  Witt's. 
Jan.  22.  Had  many  calls.     Left  home  at  half  past  two ;  lectured  in 

Brooklyn  Institute,  and  returned  home  by  11  P.M. 
Jan.  25.  Pleasant.     Wrote  all  the  morning  ;  then  attended  the  fu- 
neral of  Miss  Mulford,  who  died  in  Tennessee  ;  then  made  some 

visits. 
Saturday,  2Qth.  Wrote  all  the  morning.    Miss  Slater  came  to  see  about 

Miss  Spaulding's  school.     Great  snow-storm  in  the  afternoon ;  mer- 
ry sleigh-ride. 

21th.  Pleasant;  fine  sleighing.     Preached  twice.     Union  service  in 
the  Third  Church. 

[His  text  on  this  last  Sabbath  was  appropriately  chosen  from  Num- 
bers, 10th  chapter,  29th  verse :  "  We  are  journeying  unto  the  place 
of  which  the  Lord  said  I  will  give  it  you.  Come  thou  with  us,  and 
we  will  do  thee  good ;  for  the  Lord  hath  spoken  good  concerning  Is- 
rael." There  was  such  an  earnest  solemnity  in  his  manner,  and  ten- 
derness of  appeal  to  his  people  as  "dearly  beloved  and  longed  for"  in 
these  discourses  as  can  not  soon  be  forgotten.  He  was  affected  to 
tears  at  the  close  of  the  afternoon  sen'ice  in  trying  to  persuade  some 
who  were  almost  Christians  to  decide  at  once  to  come  with  the  peo- 
ple of  God  and  secure  the  blessings  promised  to  Israel.  This  led  a 
friend,  af^er  the  service,  to  remark  to  him,  "If  your  people  are  lost, 
their  blood  will  not  be  required  at  your  hands."] 
Monday,  2%th.  Pleasant.     Wrote   all  the   morning.     Judge  Savage 

called  as  to  orphan  children.     Executive  Committee  of  the  Biblcj 

Society  met.     Called  on  the  sick. 
2Qth.  Pleasant.     Visited  the  sick  during  the  afternoon.     Excellent 

prayer-meeting  in  the  evening. 
Jan.  30.  Cold.     Rode  to  W.,  in  our  neighborhood,  with  Mrs.  Hotch- 

kiss,  to  see  a  poor  family.    The  mother  very  ill.    Baptized  three  chil- 


LAST  DAYS  AND   HOURS.  365 

Pastor  Fisch.  Sickness. 

dren.     Visited  a  member  of  ray  Church  deeply  afflicted.     Attend- 
ed Mr.  Lore's  lecture  in  the  evening. 
Jan.  31.  Fine  day.     Attended  Mr.  Moses  Ogden's  funeral  at  11  A.M. 

In  the  afternoon  Pastor  Fisch  and  wife  came.     He  preached  in  the 

evening. 

[At  10  o'clock  P.M.,  just  before  leaving  his  study,  he  wrote  his  last 
memorandum.] 
Feb.  1.   Pastor  Fisch  left  for  Philadelphia.     Dr.  Blakeman's  child 

buried  to-day.     Visited  the  sick. 

[He  had  met  Pastor  Fisch  in  Paris  during  the  summer,  and  very 
cordially  welcomed  him  to  this  country.  In  October  he  had  introduced 
him  to  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey  in  a  manner  that  secured  the  kind- 
ness and  benefactions  of  many  present.  On  Friday,  before  they  left, 
he  had  called  with  them  at  Dr.  ^lagie's  and  Mr.  V.  S.  Wilder's,  ar- 
ranging with  them  more  fully  for  their  enjoyment  and  success  on  their 
return  in  the  last  week  of  February.  In  parting  with  them  at  the 
cars,  he  said,  "Give  my  love  to  my  friend  Mr.  Stuart,  and  tell  him  I 
had  not  time  to  write,  but  I  send  him  two  living  epistles."] 

Friday,  Feb.  1.  Eeturning  from  the  funeral  alluded 
to  in  the  grave-yard  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church, 
at  two  o'clock  P.M.,  Dr.  Murraj'-  was  first  seized  with 
a  pain  in  his  side.  So  severe  was  it  that  he  paused 
for  a  moment  in  crossing  the  street  to  recover  his 
breath,  and  on  reaching  the  house  of  a  friend  he  again 
paused,  holding  on  to  the  door  until  sufficiently  re- 
covered to  ring  the  bell.  This  call  was  one  of  the 
many  errands  of  love  and  mercy  he  had  yet  to  fulfill, 
and  he  hastened  through  them  in  expectation  of  leav- 
ing home  early  the  next  morning,  to  spend  the  Sab- 
bath in  Albany.  The  sympathy  and  prayer  offered 
on  that  afternoon  are  spoken  of  as  peculiarly  sweet. 

At  family  worship,  which  it  was  his  habit  to  observe 
immediately  after  tea,  and  which,  in  this  way,  was  made 
a  means  of  grace  to  many  casual  visitors,  he  was  unusu- 


866  LAST  DAYS  AND   HOURS. 

Dr.  Sprague.  Ready  to  ga 

ally  sad,  and  tender  in  his  petitions  for  tlie  bereaved, 
and  earnest  in  seeking  a  blessing  on  bis  family,  par- 
ticularly tbe  child  who  was  sick.  "  The  foreshadow- 
ing of  care  in  reference  to  that  dear  boy,"  he  said,  and 
his  "  own  indisposition,  clouded  the  prospect  of  the 
happiest  visit  he  made  in  the  year."  To  his  little  son 
he  related  the  circumstances  connected  with  the  hap- 
py death  of  Dr.  B 's  son,  and  tried  to  impress  on 

him  the  great  need  there  was  that  he,  at  the  same  age, 
should  begin  to  love  and  serve  the  Lord.  He  then 
went  to  his  study  to  select  his  sermons  for  Dr.  Sprague's 
people,  and  arrange  his  papers  to  be  absent  until 
Thursday  of  the  next  week,  intending  to  spend  a  day 
or  two  with  his  son  in  Williams  College. 

Interrupted  at  nine  o'clock,  he  was  found  reading 
his  Bible.  His  sermons  were  ready  to  be  packed,  and 
written  directions  for  his  pulpit  left  on  his  study  ta- 
ble. He  soon  joined  the  family  circle,  and,  resting  on 
the  sofa,  desired  to  have  a  speech  on  the  times  read  to 
him.  But  a  few  minutes  after  he  was  seized  with  pain 
so  severe  he  could  not  speak.  After  the  application 
of  active  remedies,  he  so  far  recovered  as  to  retire  and 
rest  tolerably  well  through  the  night.  Early  in  the 
morning  of  Saturday,  he  said  he  should  have  slept 
but  for  anxiety  as  to  his  duty  about  going  to  Albany. 
He  said  he  could  not  bear  to  disappoint  Dr.  Sprague 
a  second  time,  and  must  go.  When  dissuaded  from 
doing  so  by  the  exposure  to  cold  in  traveling,  and 
danger  of  being  sick  from  home,  he  consented  to  wait 
until  noon  and  try  his  strength,  and  then,  but  for  an- 
other severe  attack  of  pain,  he  would  have  gone.    Nev- 


LAST  DAYS  AND   HOURS.  86T 

Disease.  Dr.  Schenck. 

er  to  give  up  until  fairly  conquered,  was  his  rule  to 
tlie  last.  Then  he  cheerfully  yielded,  and,  without 
any  misgivings  as  to  the  past  or  future,  rejoiced  that 
he  had  not  had  his  own  way. 

He  dictated  a  dispatch  to  Dr.  Sprague,  saying,  ""Vio- 
lent rheumatism  prevents  my  coming — will  write." 
This  was  done,  as  he  desired,  by  express ;  and  he  sent 
word,  as  the  Rev.  Mr.  Breed,  of  Philadelphia,  was  to 
preach  for  him  on  the  next  Sabbath,  he  would  then  be 
in  Albany. 

His  physicians  were  now  sent  for,  and  his  disease 
was  pronounced  neuralgia  of  the  intercostal  muscles. 
The  pain  was  acute,  but  spasmodic,  and  the  interval  one 
of  almost  perfect  rest.  He  described  it,  when  dying 
away,  like  the  strains  of  music  vibrating  on  a  sensitive 
ear.  He  expressed  his  intention  of  going  out  to  hear 
Rev.  Dr.  Schenck  preach  the  next  day,  but  the  physi- 
cian persuaded  him  it  would  be  better  to  rest  for  a  few 
days.  During  the  afternoon  Dr.  Schenck  arrived,  and 
he  spent  some  time  in  conversing  with  him  on  the  in- 
terests of  the  Church.  Dr.  Crane,  calling  in  the  after- 
noon, found  him  so  comfortable  as  to  say  he  needed 
little  more  than  good  nursing.  He  bade  his  daughter 
residing  in  Paterson  a  very  cheerful  good-by,  desiring 
her  to  ask  Dr.  Hornblower  to  exchange  with  him  very 
soon. 

After  he  decided  not  to  attempt  going  to  Albany, 
he  frequently,  through  the  day,  congratulated  himself 
on  being  at  home.  A  spirit  of  thankfulness  pervaded 
his  whole  sickness,  and  he  often  said,  "How  good  it  is 
to  be  at  home" — "no  place  like  home."     And,  refer- 


368  LAST  DAYS   AND   HOURS. 

(Jheerfulnesa.  Sermons. 

ring  to  parts  of  a  favorite  bjmn,  "  Unnumbered  com- 
forts to  my  soul,"  etc.,  "  Nor  is  tlie  least  a  cheerful 
heart,  that  tastes  these  gifts  with  joy."  "  A  cheerful 
religion,"  he  said,  "ought  to  be  more  cultivated  by 
the  people  of  God." 

Saturday  night.  Although  sleepless,  he  was  not  so 
distressed  as  to  require  any  service,  and  in  the  morn- 
ing he  requested  to  see  Dr.  Schenck  before  church, 
that  he  might  remind  him  that  his  people  liked  short 
sermons.  He  also  saw  Mr.  Nutman,  one  of  his  elders, 
and  mentioned  to  him  the  series  of  sermons  he  had 
been  writing  on  "  Things  Unseen  and  Eternal."  He 
said  "he  had  seldom  written  sermons  that  afforded 
him  more  comfort;  his  mind  had  been  full  of  the  sub- 
ject, and  that  he  intended  a  week  from  the  next  Sab- 
bath to  begin  and  go  straight  through  the  series," 

When  the  bells  for  church  had  ceased  ringing,  he 
requested  to  be  read  to.  The  selection  made  was 
from  the  crucifixion  and  ascension  of  our  Lord,  in 
connection  with  the  commentary  of  his  friend,  Judge 
Jones,  of  Philadelphia. 

After  the  morning  service  Dr.  Schenck  came  to  his 
room,  and  they  were  left  alone.  Eetiirning  to  the 
room  after  some  time,  he  was  heard  saying,  in  a  sub- 
dued tone,  "  There  was  never  a  cup  of  sorrow  that 
might  not  have  in  it  one  more  bitter  drop."  The 
conversation  had  evidently  been  one  of  tenderness 
and  spirituality.  Soon  after  this  he  became  restless, 
and  desired  Dr.  Schenck  might  go  to  his  study  to  rest 
for  the  afternoon  service.  While  at  dinner,  the  par- 
oxysms of  })ain  were  so  severe  that  he  groaned  aloud. 


LAST  DAYS  AND  HOURS.  369 

Wiinting  sleep.  Physician. 

The  doctor  was  immediately  sent  for,  and  succeeded 
in  so  far  alleviating  his  sufferings  as  to  leave  him  to 
go  to  church. 

He  was  much  exhausted  for  want  of  sleep,  and, 
when  longing  for  it,  was  reminded  who  it  is  "that  giv- 
eth  His  beloved  sleep."  Not  in  that  sense,  he  said,  or 
many  would  be  discouraged.  He  was  unable  to  bear 
reading,  and  spent  much  time  in  ejaculatory  prayer, 
thanking  God  on  the  cessation  of  every  pain  that  one 
more  had  gone.  Sometimes  he  exclaimed,  "Fearfully 
and  wonderfully  made!"  "Strange  that  a  harp  of  a 
thousand  strings  should  keep  in  tune  so  long!" 

He  took  his  tea  as  usual,  though  he  could  retain 
nothing  but  ice,  for  the  blessing  of  which  he  often  ex- 
pressed his  gratitude.  After  tea,  the  doctor,  to  divert 
his  thoughts  from  suffering  and  lull  him  to  sleep,  kept 
up  a  cheerful  conversation  in  the  room,  in  which  he 
joined,  relating  little  incidents  in  his  pastoral  experi- 
ence. The  effect  was  soothing,  and  when  the  doctor 
rose  to  bid  good-night,  he  affectionately  pressed  his 
hand,  and  spoke  of  the  many  obligations  he  was  under 
to  him  for  his  unwearied  kindness.  On  another  oc- 
casion he  said,  "Doctor,  do  not  wear  yourself  out  on 
me." 

He  also  remarked  to  those  around  him  how  pleas- 
ant it  was  to  be  blessed  with  loving  friends  in  his 
kind  and  skillful  physicians.  At  this  time  no  fears 
were  entertained  but  that  he  would  soon  rally  from 
an  attack  induced  by  exposure  to  cold  storms  during 
the  past  month. 

After  the  doctor  left  he  desired  to  be  read  to  sleep, 
Q2 


870  LAST  DAYS  AND  HOURS, 

La3t  niglit.  Secession. 

and  the  most  familiar  and  comforting  passages  of 
Scripture  were  selected,  on  which  he  remarked,  "That 
keeps  me  awake,  as  my  mind  anticipates  every  word." 
The  morning  and  evening  hymns  from  the  Christian 
Year  were  then  read.  "Very  beautiful,"  he  said; 
"but  I  want  nothing  but  sleep."  He  desired  all  the 
family  might  enjoy  rest,  and  was  only  watched  this, 
that  last  night  on  earth,  by  eyes  that  could  not  sleep. 
Yery  early  in  the  morning  he  complained  of  feeling 
exhausted,  and  wished  a  cup  of  tea.  He  was  refreshed 
by  it,  arose,  washed  as  usual,  and  changed  his  room. 
He  wished,  he  said,  to  speak  to  Dr.  S.  before  he  left, 
and  then  he  kept  very  quiet  through  the  day.  His 
mind  had  been  very  much,  exercised  as  to  the  dark 
clouds  hanging  over  our  country,  and  the  foreboding 
of  secession  in  the  Church,  as  well  as  state,  gave  him 
great  pain.  Conversing  with  his  friend  in  that  last 
interview,  he  said,  "Give  my  love  to  the  brethren  of 
the  New  Brunswick  Presbytery,  and  tell  them  to  send 
Dr.  Hodge  to  the  General  Assembly."  When  asked 
if  he  would  be  a  member,  he  said  "  No ;  but  I  would 
like  to  make  one  more  speech  there ;"  and,  laying  his 
hand  on  his  heart,  ^^  I  have  it  all  here.''''  Emphatically, 
and,  as  it  proved,  prophetically,  he  once  said  in  a  social 
prayer-meeting,  "I  feel  sure  we  can  not,  in  this  en- 
lightened age,  among  a  Christian  people,  united  as  we 
are  North  and  South  by  the  closest  ties,  go  to  war." 
And  again,  "I  shall  never  live  to  see  civil  war  or  the 
dismemberment  of  our  Church." 

The  day  passed  as  the  night,  sleeplessly,  with  no 
increasing  symptom  to  alarm  but  his  exhaustion  and 


LAST  DAYS  AND   HOURS.  371 

Low  pulse.  Excruciating  pain. 

feebleness  of  pulse,  -which  was  constitutional,  and  on 
that  account  less  feared,  though  it  led  to  some  change 
of  treatment  and  the  sending  for  consulting  physicians. 
During  the  afternoon  he  was  so  bright,  when  free  from 
pain,  that  it  seemed  impossible  he  could  be  dangerous- 
ly ill.  To  the  doctor  he  told  some  pleasant  anecdotes 
— a  ruling  passion  strong  in  death. 

About  five  o'clock  P.M.  he  desired  just  such  tea 
and  toast  as  he  had  early  in  the  morning.  When  it 
was  brought,  he  said  pleasantly  to  the  servant,  who 
had  waited  on  him  for  more  than  twenty  years,  "  You 
know  how  to  make  it!"  and  then,  in  recognition  of 
the  fact,  he  added  "  that  he  had  reason  specially  to 
be  thankful  for  faithful  domestics.  So  happy  were 
they  always  in  serving  him  that  his  wishes  were  an- 
ticipated." After  tea  his  restlessness  increased ;  and 
frequently  passing  from  one  room  to  another,  "he 
changed  (he  said)  the  place,  but  kept  the  pain."  "  This 
restlessness — intense  restlessness,"  he  often  said,  "what 
does  it  mean?"  During  the  absence  of  the  doctor,  a 
new  symptom  induced  the  sending  for  him,  and  he 
begged  his  friends  might  not  be  alarmed.  He  had 
some  difficulty  of  breathing,  and  directed  how  a  free 
circulation  of  air  might  be  admitted ;  was  fanned ;  felt 
comforted,  he  said,  by  the  remedies,  but  they  did  not 
last  long.  "When  the  doctor  returned,  he  retired  to  a 
dark  room,  and  desired  to  be  left  alone  there,  hoping 
to  sleep.  Very  soon  the  pain,  that  had  been  for  some 
hours  lulled,  returned  to  finish  its  work.  It  was  ex- 
cruciating around  his  heart,  so  that  he  groaned  aloud ; 
and,  after  wiping  the  cold  sweat  from  his  face,  he 


372  LAST  DAYS  AND   HOURS. 

Pain  ceased.  Fainted. 

asked  the  doctor,  "  How  mucli  of  such  pain  do  you 
think  a  man  could  bear?"  On  being  answered,  be- 
cause of  its  character,  a  great  deal,  he  replied,  "  But 
nature  can  not  bear  every  thing;  she  must  some 
time  yield."  A  few  minutes  after,  he  said,  brightly, 
"  Now  the  pain  is  all  gone."  A  short  time  before  he 
had  walked  with  a  firm,  quick  step  from  one  room 
to  another ;  had  listened  to  the  news  of  the  day,  and 
directed  how  letters  of  business  should  be  answered 
in  the  morning.  From  the  passing  away  of  that  last 
severe  pain  his  restlessness  ceased,  and  his  counte- 
nance became  sweetly  serene. 

So  quiet  was  he  at  this  time  that  it  was  hoped  he 
was  about  to  enjoy  the  sleep  he  so  longed  for.  The 
doctor  sat  fanning  him,  and  his  wife  bathing  his  head, 
when  suddenly  he  turned  to  ask  for  something,  and 
fainted.  As  he  had  before,  in  previous  illness,  faint- 
ed from  debility,  the  danger  was  not  even  then  recog- 
nized. The  family  were  called,  and  all  were  for  some 
time  hopeful  in  assisting  the  doctor  in  the  use  of  re- 
storatives; and  it  was  not  until  after  some  minutes 
of  unconsciousness,  when  no  pulse  could  be  found,  and 
his  faithful  physician  said  "  //ear,"  that  the  knell  of 
death  was  sounded. 

Then  there  was  agony  in  prayer — beseeching  God, 
"  if  this  cup  might  not  pass,"  His  servant  might  be 
permitted  to  speak  a  ivord,  that  his  family  might  know 
he  was  conscious  of  this  great  reality^  and  receive  his 
parting  blessing. 

Slowly  he  opened  his  eyes ;  and  the  doctor,  seeing 
that  he  recognized  his  wife,  oiBfered  him  some  brandy, 


LAST   DAYS   AND   HOURS.  873 

Kefiises  brandy.  Dying  prayer. 

■which  he  refused,  saying,  "  No  more  brandy.  My 
work  is  done."  He  was  then  reminded  of  a  promise 
he  had  made  to  take  any  thing  the  doctor  wished,  and 
urged  to  take  the  brandy,  that,  if  his  life  might  not  be 
spared,  the  stimulant  would  enable  him  to  speak  to 
his  family.  "  No,  wife,"  he  repeated,  "  no  more  bran- 
dy. Let  me  not  die  as  the  drunkard  dies,  with  the 
taste  of  brandy  on  his  lips.  You  know  how  I  abhor 
it.  My  work  is  done !  I  want  my  mind  unclouded ! 
I  want  to  pray !" 

The  language  of  that  prayer  can  never  be  recalled, 
nor  the  pathos  of  those  tones.  So  deep  and  calm  was 
the  stillness,  the  light  of  heaven  so  visible  as  it  beam- 
ed upon  his  face,  that  all  felt  surely  "  the  Lord  is  in 
this  place,"  and  "  this  is  the  gate  of  heaven."  Eaising 
his  hands,  he  earnestly  confessed  his  own  unworthi- 
ness,  and  his  simple  faith  in  Christ  as  the  Savior  of 
sinners.  "Washed  in  His  blood,  sanctified  by  His 
Spirit,"  he  thanked  God  He  had  not  left  him  to  this 
hour  to  prepare  to  meet  Him.  He  then,  with  unwav- 
ering faith  in  the  promises  of  a  covenant-keeping  God, 
committed  his  beloved  family  and  his  domestics  to  His 
care ;  and,  in  brief  sentences,  he  added,  "  Bless  my  be- 
loved Church  and  people;"  "My  dear  elders,  may 
they  all  be  men  of  God;"  "Bless  the  trustees  and 
deacons :  may  they  all  be  men  of  God ;"  and  then,  as 
if  gathering  new  strength  of  utterance  in  the  recollec- 
tion of  his  yoitng  men,  he  added,  "My  young  men, 
young  merchants,  }■  oung  mechanics,  may  they  be  God- 
fearing men,  and  hating  coveiousnessy  He  asked  that 
the  words  lie  had  spoken  might  not  be  forgotten,  but 


374  LAST  DAYS  AND  HOURS. 

Blessing.  Legacy. 

bear  fruits  to  the  glory  of  God.  He  then  prayed  for 
his  "  brethren  in  the  ministry,  the  Church  universal," 
his  country,  and  the  world. 

At  the  close  of  this  prayer,  he  said,  again  lifting  his 
hands,  "Eeceive  the  blessing;"  and  repeated,  "The 
grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  love  of  God, 
and  the  communion  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  be  with  you 
all."  He  then  repeated  the  Lord's  prayer,  and  added, 
" Father,  into  Thy  hands  I  commend  m}^  spirit."  '^No 
more — 7io  more.''''  But,  emboldened  with  holy  confi- 
dence to  ask  yet  another  blessing,  his  children  were 
presented,  and  those  present  and  absent  alike  received 
his  dying  admonition,  instruction,  and  blessing.  And 
there  are  sorrows,  as  well  as  joys,  in  which  others 
may  not  intermeddle ;  scenes  in  the  chamber  of  the 
dying  that  may  not  be  unfolded  to  the  world's  view. 
Loving  ties  were  sundering,  and  the  full  heart  gave 
vent  to  its  warm  affections  in  earnest,  tender,  and  ever- 
to-be-remembcred  expressions. 

After  a  pause,  he  was  reminded  of  the  series  of 
sermons  on  "Things  Unseen  and  Eternal"  he  had 
never  preached,  and  asked  if  they  should  be  given  to 
his  people  as  a  legacy.  "Yes,"  he  replied,  "  my  dy- 
ing legacy."  To  one  of  his  physicians  he  said,  "  Doc- 
tor, you  have  treasures  laid  up  in  heaven ;  live  so  that 
you  may  win  them." 

The  friend  nearest  to  him,  catching  some  glimpses 
of  the  glory  to  be  revealed  when  the  mortal  had  put 
on  immortality,  spoke  to  him  of  that  exceeding  and 
eternal  weight  of  glory,  "  which  eye  hath  not  seen,  nor 
ear  heard,  neither  hath  it  entered  into  the  heart  of 


LA.ST  DAYS  AND   HOURS.  375 


Doxology. 


man  to  conceive."  "I  give  unto  them  eternal  life." 
"Father,  I  will  that  they  also  whom  Thou  hast  given 
me  be  with  me  where  I  am,  that  they  may  behold  my 
glory."  "  In  my  Father's  house  are  many  mansions." 
"  Blessed  mansions,  and  six  precious  children  all  hast- 
ening to  meet  you."  A  favorite  doxology  was  then 
named:  '"Tis  Jesus  the  Jirst  and  the  lasi;^^  when  he 
faintly  added,  "Whose  Spirit  shall  guide  me  safe 
home;"  "We  will  praise  Him  for  all  that  is  past;" 
and,  looking  tenderly  at  his  wife,  "Foia  must  trust 
Ilim  for  all  that's  to  come."  As  he  still  continued 
conscious,  he  was  asked  if  he  had  had  any  premonition 
that  this  was  his  last  sickness.  "Not  at  all,"  was  the 
reply.  And  then  to  his  family,  when  asked  to  direct 
as  to  the  future,  his  last  words  were,  "  Let  the  world 
go;  it  will  all  be  right."  And  so  he  departed  as  calm- 
ly as  for  the  night.  Like  his  Divine  Master,  he  seem- 
ed to  have  led  those  nearest  him  to  Bethany,  "  and 
while  he  blessed  them  he  was  parted  from  them,  and 
carried  up  into  heaven." 

"Death  was  swallowed  up  in  life,  and  we  wor- 
shiped Him  who  had  given  him  the  victory  through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  So  undisturbed  was  the  dy- 
ing saint  by  any  physical  suffering,  so  radiant  with 
the  light  of  heaven  was  the  expression  of  his  face, 
that  even  the  shadow  of  the  King  of  Terrors  was  not 
seen ;  and  it  was  long  after  that  warm,  loving  heart 
had  ceased  to  beat  ere  we  could  resign  to  the  power 
of  Death,  for  a  time,  that  mansion,  beautiful  in  ruins. 
Then,  with  the  eye  of  faith,  we  followed  the  immortal 
soul,  '  unclothed,  that  it  might  be  clothed  upon,'  to 


876  LAST   DAYS   AND    HOURS. 

Celestial  city.  Funeral 

the  gates  of  the  celestial  city ;  and  when  the  gates 
■were  opened,  we  saw  that  he  was  transfigured,  and 
had  raiment  put  on  him  that  shone  like  gold.  There 
were  also  shining  ones  that  met  him  with  harps  and 
crowns  of  gold,  spiritual  children,  seals  of  his  minis- 
try, and  stars  in  the  crown  of  his  rejoicing.  Then  it 
seemed  to  me  that  all  the  bells  of  the  city  rang  for 
joy,  and  that  it  was  said  unto  him,  'Enter  ye  into  the 
joy  of  your  Lord ;'  and  '  I  saw,  as  it  were,  a  sea  of 
glass,  mingled  with  fire,  and  them  that  had  gotten  the 
victory  over  the  beast,  and  over  his  image,  and  over 
his  mark,  and  over  the  number  of  his  name,  stand  on 
the  sea  of  glass,  having  the  harps  of  God ;  and  they 
sing  the  song  of  Moses,  the  servant  of  God,  and  the 
song  of  the  Lamb,  saying,  Great  and  marvelous  are 
Thy  works.  Lord  God  Almighty;  just  and  true  are 
Thy  ways,  Thou  King  of  saints.' " 

So  died  Nicholas  Murray,  on  Monday,  the  4th 
day  of  February,  1861,  in  the  59th  year  of  his  age. 
His  funeral  was  attended  by  a  vast  multitude  on  the 
Friday  following.  The  clergy  from  New  York,  Prince- 
ton, Newark,  Elizabeth,  and  the  surrounding  country 
gathered  in  great  numbers  to  testify  their  sorrow  and 
their  love  of  him  who  had  been  so  suddenly  and  un- 
expectedly taken  away.  The  remains  were  laid  in 
the  parlor  adjoining  the  study,  where  his  Bible,  yet 
open,  showed  the  subjects  which  had  there  last  em- 
ployed his  mind.  His  white,  massive  head,  his  bland 
and  noble  face,  his  manly  form,  were  yet  so  like  to 
life,  it  was  hard  to  believe  that  the  soul  was  gone. 


LAST  DAYS  AND   HOURS.  377 

BelU  tolled.  Services. 

Eev.  Thomas  L.  Janeway,  D.D.,  offered  prayer  at  the 
house,  and  then  the  procession  was  formed  to  follow 
the  body  to  the  church. 

The  bells  of  the  churches  of  various  denominations 
tolled  in  concert  as  the  sad  procession  moved  through 
the  silent  streets.  Silent  indeed  they  were;  for  the 
places  of  business,  even  the  shops  of  Eoman  Catholic 
citizens,  were  closed,  and  the  entire  community,  by  si- 
multaneous consent,  yielded  themselves  to  respectful 
expression  of  sympathy  and  grief  A  neighbor,  a 
pastor,  a  brother,  a  friend,  was  dead.  The  church  was 
thronged,  and  more  were  unable  to  gain  admittance. 
The  pulpit  and  columns  were  hung  in  mourning,  but 
no  signs  were  needed  to  speak  the  sorrow  of  the 
smitten  flock  in  the  house  where  they  had  so  often 
listened  with  gladness  to  the  voice  of  their  shepherd. 
Over  the  pulpit  and  against  the  wall  were  inscribed 
the  pastor's  dying  words :  "  My  work  is  done." 

The  services  were  conducted  and  addresses  made 
by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Rodgers,  of  Boundbrook,  Rev.  Mr. 
Rankin,  of  Baskingridge,  Rev.  Dr.  Ogden,  of  Chatham, 
Rev.  Dr.  Hodge,  of  Princeton,  Rev.  Dr.  Magie,  of  Eliza- 
beth, and  Rev.  Mr.  Sheddan,  of  Rahway.  The  body 
was  then  borne  to  the  cemetery  adjoining  the  church, 
and  there  buried  among  his  children  and  people  who 
had  preceded  him  to  the  grave. 

On  the  Sabbath  following  the  funeral  sermon  was 
preached  by  the  Rev.  William  B.  Sprague,  D.D.,  of 
Albany,  between  M^hom  and  Dr.  Murray  an  intimate 
friendship  had  existed  for  many  years.  His  text  was, 
"Wonderful  in  council,"  and  the  sermon  presented 


378  LAST  DAYS  AND  HOUKS. 

Dr.  Spra^e's  ssrmon. 

the  wisdom  of  God  in  raising  up  the  men  He  needs 
for  the  accomplishment  of  His  purposes  on  the  earth. 
The  sermon,  which  was  in  all  respects  worthy  of  the 
occasion,  the  author,  and  the  theme,  gave  an  admirable 
outline  of  the  life  and  character  of  Dr.  Murray,  and 
was  heard  with  profound  sensation  by  a  great  con- 
course of  people  from  the  city  and  the  surrounding 
country. 

The  newspaper  press,  various  religious  and  literary 
societies,  boards  of  the  Church  and  ecclesiastical  bod- 
ies, gave  expression  to  their  respect  for  the  memory 
of  the  deceased,  and  their  sense  of  the  loss  which  re- 
ligion and  learning  had  sustained. 


HIS  GENERAL  CHARACTER.         379 


character. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Outline  of  Character.— Usefulness— Activity.— Lectures.— A  Citi- 
zen.—A  Pastor.— Social  Qualities.— Anecdotes.— Liberal  Feelings. 
—Sketch  by  his  friend,  Dr.  Sprague. 

In  following  our  friend  and  brotlier  through  his 
ministerial  and  literary  career,  we  have  neglected  to 
observe  the  various  yet  important  labors  in  which  his 
heart  and  mind  were  actively  employed  for  the  gen- 
eral good  of  the  community  in  which  he  lived,  the 
Church  at  large,  and  the  world. 

Usefulness  was  emphatically  the  object  of  his  life. 

Few  men  in  the  Church  were  more  efiicient  and 
successful  in  advancing  the  interests  of  her  boards  of 
benevolence,  and  her  Theological  Seminary  at  Prince- 
ton. An  active  director  in  these  institutions,  he  was 
punctual  in  attendance,  and  vigilant  and  sagacious  in 
counsel.  At  the  same  time,  so  catholic  was  his  spirit, 
and  so  wide  the  range  of  his  labors,  that  he  gave  to 
the  great  national  societies  for  the  circulation  of  Bi- 
bles and  Tracts,  and  for  various  other  noble  works,  his 
warm  support. 

He  was  sent  for,  and  he  went  as  a  lecturer,  from  the 
farthest  East  to  the  Mississippi,  and  from  Canada  to 
the  South;  and  the  lectures  that  he  delivered  are 
among  the  most  able,  learned,  and  brilliant  produc- 
tions that  he  left  behind  him. 

As  a  citizen  he  was  ever  foremost  in  every  enter- 


380  HIS  GENERAL  CHARACTER. 

A  citizen.  Social  life. 

prise  that  promised  to  advance  the  welfare  of  the  peo- 
ple. Among  the  memorials  of  his  leading  influence 
are  the  Lyceum  and  the  Orphan  Asylum,  the  monu- 
ment to  the  Eev.  Mr.  Caldwell,  near  now  to  his  own, 
and  schools  public  and  private,  in  whose  establish- 
ment or  support  he  took  the  liveliest  interest.  The 
cause  of  common  school  education  in  the  State  of 
New  Jersey  occupied  a  large  place  in  his  affections, 
and  his  exertions  were  felt  in  the  Legislature  and  in 
the  remotest  county.  He  was  among  the  founders  of 
the  New  Jersey  Historical  Society,  and  at  his  individ- 
ual request  the  meeting  was  called  that  resulted  in  its 
organization. 

So  much  time  and  labor  did  he  bestow  upon  these 
extra  services,  that  his  own  vineyard  might  have  been 
neglected  but  for  that  high  principle  and  thorough 
system  which  made  his  pastoral  duties  paramount  to 
all  others.  Of  his  own  people  he  was  never  forgetful, 
and  his  success  is  the  best  proof  of  his  ministry. 

To  those  who  knew  Dr.  Murray  in  social  life,  any 
sketch  of  his  character  will  appear  unlike  him  that 
does  not  reflect  the  constant  sunshine  of  genial  humor, 
and  the  flashes  of  wit  that  illumined  and  enlivened  the 
circle  around  him.  Yet  it  is  quite  impossible  to  pre- 
serve and  reproduce  these  most  characteristic  passages 
of  his  history.  He  could  make  no  record  of  them ; 
no  one  else  has  recorded  them ;  and  they  can  not  be 
recalled.  But  those  who  heard  him  in  Synod,  when 
in  his  happiest  moods,  will  remember  such  hits  as 
this.  He  was  remonstrating  against  the  course  of 
an  inferior  court  that  had  tried  a  man  while  absent. 


HIS  GENERAL  CHARACTER.         881 


,     _        ,                                                                                                                  Liberality. 
In  Synod. 1_ 


"Why,  Moderator,"  said  he,  "I  agree  with  one  of  my 
own  countrymen,  who  said  he  would  not  hang  a  dog 
unless  he  was  present!" 

Every  year  he  spent  a  few  weeks  in  summer  at 
Saratoga  for  the  benefit  of  the  waters.  Then  he  was 
the  animating  spirit  of  a  group  of  friends,  who  loved 
to  get  within  the  charmed  circle  of  his  conversation 
and  his  sunny  smiles.  A  young  sprig  of  divinity  had 
been  ventilating  his  Puseyite  ideas  to  the  great  an- 
noyance of  the  company,  who  had  been  disgusted  with 
his  affectation  of  clerical  dignity  and  dress.  As  he 
left  the  piazza,  some  one  remarked,  "  He  is  a  minia- 
ture edition  of  Romanism."  "  Yes,"  added  Dr.  Mur- 
ray, "  bound  in  calf" 

He  was  liberal  in  his  feelings  toward  Christians  of 
other  names  than  his  own ;  and  it  is  to  his  honor,  as 
well  as  to  the  praise  of  Divine  Grace,  that  he  was  char- 
itable to  the  Church  which  he  abandoned  in  his  youth. 
He  abhorred  Romanism,  but  he  loved  all  men,  Ro- 
man Catholics  especially,  his  brethren  and  kinsmen 
according  to  the  flesh.  When  I  learned  that  he  had 
subscribed  and  given  money  to  aid  in  building  a  Ro- 
man Catholic  church  in  Elizabethtown,  I  ventured  to 
question  the  propriety  of  such  an  act.  He  replied 
that  he  desired  to  testify  his  kindly  feelings  toward 
those  whose  errors  of  faith  he  was  bound  to  oppose. 

Among  the  many  sketches  received  since  these  me- 
moirs were  commenced,  there  is  none  more  complete 
than  the  letter  which  is  here  given,  from  the  pen  of 
the  Rev,  Dr.  Sprague.  No  man  is  so  well  fitted,  by 
intimate  knowledge  of  the  subject,  to  portray  the  life 
and  character  of  Dr.  Murray. 


382  HIS   GENERAL  CHARACTER. 

Dr.  Pprague's  eketch.  Recollections. 

"Albanj',  2d  July,  18G1. 

"  My  DEAR  Dr.  Prime, — You  could  not  have  asked 
a  service  of  me  more  grateful,  in  every  respect,  to  my 
own  feelings,  than  to  record  my  recollections  of  our 
much  loved  and  lamented  friend.  Dr.  Murray.  There 
are  two  reasons  why  I  can  perform  it  with  the  utmost 
alacrity.  One  is,  that  I  loved  him  so  much  that  my 
heart  warms  at  every  remembrance  of  him ;  the  other 
is,  that  I  knew  him  so  well  that  I  can  speak  of  him 
with  perfect  confidence  in  the  correctness  of  all  my 
statements.  I  confess,  however,  to  a  degree  of  disap- 
pointment in  regard  to  the  amount  of  material  which  I 
have  for  such  a  communication  as  you  have  asked  for. 
My  first  impression  was,  that  there  were  lodged  in  my 
memory  facts  and  incidents  enough,  which  had  fallen 
within  my  observation,  to  make  a  larger  part  of  your 
forthcoming  volume  than  could  reasonably  be  appro- 
priated to  me ;  but,  now  that  I  have  set  myself  to  an 
effort  at  recollection,  I  find  that  I  am  much  richer  in 
impressions  than  incidents — the  former  remaining  in 
all  their  vividness,  while  the  latter  have,  for  the  most 
part,  become  confused  and  shadowy,  or  faded  away 
altogether.  I  will  endeavor,  however,  as  faithfully  as 
I  can,  to  portray  the  man  as  he  now  lives  in  my  mem- 
ory and  my  heart,  taking  care  to  say  little  or  nothing 
for  the  truth  of  which  my  own  personal  observation  is 
not  the  voucher.  In  doing  this,  it  will  be  impossible 
to  avoid  a  substantial  repetition  of  some  things  con- 
tained in  the  discourse  I  delivered  on  the  occasion  of 
Dr.  Murray's  death  (already  published) ;  and,  instead 
of  suffering  myself  to  be  embarrassed  by  any  attempt 


HIS   GENERAL   CHARACTER,  383 

Settlement.  Dr.  Grifiin. 

to  do  this,  I  shall  just  write  what  occurs  to  me,  as  if 
this  were  the  first  offering  I  had  made  to  the  memory 
of  our  friend. 

"I  first  heard  of  Dr.  Murray  in  connection  with  his 
settlement  at  Elizabethtown  as  the  successor  of  Dr. 
M'Dowell ;  and  the  very  favorable  account  which  I 
had  of  him,  coming,  as  it  did,  from  one  of  Dr.  M'Dow- 
ell's  own  family,  created  in  me  a  strong  desire  to  make 
his  acquaintance.  After  the  death  of  Dr.  Griffin  in 
1837,  it  devolved  upon  me  to  write  a  brief  memoir  of 
his  life ;  and  as  Dr.  Murray  had  been  one  of  his  pupils 
at  "Williams  College,  Dr.  Griffin's  gifted  and  excellent 
daughter,  Mrs.  Dr.  Smith,  then  of  Newark,  requested 
him  to  write  out  his  recollections  of  her  father,  to  be 
incorporated  in  the  memorial  of  him  which  I  was  then 
forming.  He  readily  complied  with  her  request,  and, 
in  doing  so,  gave  me  the  first  definite  idea  I  had  of 
his  character.  The  letter  he  wrote  me  was  marked  by 
great  clearness,  discrimination,  and  point,  and  showed 
me  that  he  had  a  thorough  appreciation  of  the  charac- 
ter of  the  great  man  whom  he  had  undertaken  to  de- 
scribe. Two  or  three  letters  passed  between  us  at  that 
time,  but  the  first  time  I  met  Dr.  Murray  was  in  April, 
1839,  on  the  day  that  John  Quincy  Adams  delivered 
his  celebrated  oration  on  the  Jubilee  of  the  Constitu- 
tion. Some  one  of  our  mutual  friends  brought  us  to- 
gether that  morning,  and  we  went  together  to  the 
North  Dutch  Church  to  hear  the  oration,  and  then 
went  to  a  hotel  (I  think  the  City  Hotel),  where  there 
was  a  large  gathering  of  gentlemen,  and,  among  oth- 
ers, Major  General  Scott,  to  whom  Dr.  Murray  mtro- 


384         HIS  GENERAL  CHARACTER. 

First  impression.  '  Annual  exchange. 

duced  me.  When  we  had  seen  enough  of  the  mag- 
nates there  assembled,  we  strolled  oflf  on  a  long  walk, 
which,  so  far  as  I  was  concerned,  had  no  other  object 
than  to  secure  to  me  an  opportunity  of  making  far- 
ther observation  upon  my  newly-made  acquaintance. 
The  moment  my  eye  first  rested'  upon  him  I  was 
strongly  impressed  by  his  frank  and  generous,  as  well 
as  decidedly  intellectual  expression  of  countenance ; 
and,  as  I  conversed  with  him,  I  felt  sure  that  the  face 
was  but  a  faithful  reflection  of  the  mind  and  heart, 
and  before  we  parted  I  resolved  that  it  should  not  be 
my  fault  if  our  acquaintance,  thus  commenced,  did  not 
ripen  into  an  enduring  friendship.  And  this  was  act- 
ually the  result.  Before  many  months  I  went  to  Eliza- 
bethtown  and  passed  a  Sabbath  with  him,  and  shortly 
after  he  came  and  passed  one  with  me,  and  thus  com- 
menced a  course  of  mutual  annual  visiting  that  was 
terminated  only  by  his  death.  His  Sabbath  was  the 
second  in  January,  and  mine  the  second  in  SejDtem- 
ber ;  and  so  regular  was  this  exchange  of  labors,  that 
it  came  to  be  regarded  in  both  our  congregations  quite 
in  the  light  of  an  institution.  As  his  return  from  Eu- 
rope last  summer  was  only  a  little  prior  to  the  stated 
time  for  my  visit,  I  felt  unwilling  to  occupy  his  pul- 
pit, while  I  knew  that  his  own  voice  would  be  so 
much  more  welcome  to  his  people  than  any  other,  and 
therefore  postponed  my  visit  for  three  or  four  weeks ; 
but  wlfen  I  did  go,  it  seemed  to  mc  that  there  was  not 
wanting  a  circumstance  to  render  my  enjoyment  com- 
plete. I  never  saw  him  more  bright,  or  genial,  or  act- 
ive, or  with  better  prospects  of  a  long-continued  course 


HIS  GENERAL  CHARACTER.  885 

Deferred.  Sudden  attack. 

of  usefulness.  Having  just  returned  from  his  foreign 
tour,  his  mind  was  exuberant  in  interesting  reminis- 
cences, illustrative  at  once  of  his  own  close  and  accu- 
rate observation,  and  of  the  cordial  welcome  which 
had  every  where  been  extended  to  him.  I  do  not  re- 
member that  so  much  as  a  single  moment  of  that  de- 
lightful visit  was  imbittered  by  the  reflection  that  pos- 
sibly it  might  prove  the  last  in  the  series  that  had  con- 
tinued so  long.  About  the  beginning  of  the  year  I 
received  a  letter  from  him,  stating  that  he  had  reluct- 
antly yielded  to  an  earnest  request  from  the  Ameri- 
can Tract  Society  to  present  its  claims  at  Hartford  on 
the  second  Sabbath  in  January,  in  consequence  of 
which  he  should  be  obliged  to  suffer  another  invasion 
of  the  established  order  of  our  visits,  but  that  the  de- 
lay would  be  for  only  a  week  or  two.  After  a  few 
days,  another  letter  from  him  informed  me  that  his  ar- 
rangements were  made  for  being  at  Albany  on  the 
first  Sabbath  in  February ;  and  he  subsequently  con- 
sented not  only  to  occupy  my  own  pulpit  in  the  morn- 
ing and  afternoon,  but  to  preach  for  our  new  State 
Street  congregation  in  the  evening.  On  the  Sabbath 
preceding  I  had,  as  usual,  given  notice  of  his  intended 
visit,  and  much  interest  had  been  awakened  in  the 
prospect  of  it.  On  Saturday,  two  or  three  hours  be- 
fore we  looked  for  his  arrival,  a  telegraphic  dispatch 
came,  announcing  that,  owing  to  a  sudden  attack  of 
rheumatism,  he  was  unable  to  leave  home.  The  same 
evening  a  letter  from  Mrs.  Murray  came,  informing 
me  that  all  his  arrangements  had  been  made  the  night 
before,  even  to  the  packing  of  his  valise,  for  coming 

1. 


886         HIS  GENERAL  CHARACTER. 

His  death.  His  preaching. 

to  Albany,  but  that  a  recurrence  of  a  difficulty  in  the 
chest,  to  which  he  had  before  been  subject,  led  her  to 
dissuade  him  from  attempting  the  journey,  though  she 
seemed  confident  that  it  would  be  only  the  delay  of  a 
single  week.  The  next  intelligence,  which  came  in  a 
letter  from  his  daughter  on  Tuesday  morning,  was 
that  he  continued  quite  ill,  and  had  suffered  much 
from  restlessness  during  the  preceding  (Sunday)  night, 
but  it  conveyed  no  intimation  that  his  illness  was 
deemed  of  an  alarming  character.  Immediately  after 
reading  the  letter  I  went  out  for  an  hour  or  two,  and 
on  my  return  found  lying  on  my  study  table  the  fol- 
lowing heart-rending  telegram :  '  Dr.  Murray  died 
AT  Elizabeth  last  night."  The  tidings,  as  they 
spread  through  my  congregation,  and  through  Dr. 
Murray's  wide  circle  of  friends  in  this  city,  seemed  to 
me  to  awaken  a  feeling  of  sorrow  scarcely  less  intense 
than  if  he  had  lived  and  died  in  the  midst  of  us. 

"Dr.  Murray's  annual  visits  to  us,  always  including 
a  Sabbath,  gave  me  a  good  opportunity  to  judge  of 
the  general  character  of  his  preaching;  for,  while  I 
always  heard  him  preach  twice,  I  sometimes  read  one 
or  more  of  the  manuscript  sermons  which  he  brought 
with  him;  and  I  can  truly  say  that  I  have  known 
few  clergymen  whose  sermons  were  so  uniformly  of  a 
high  order  of  excellence.  Some,  indeed,  produced  a 
stronger  impression  in  the  delivery  than  others ;  but 
the  difference  was  generally  to  be  traced  to  the  sub- 
jects rather  than  to  the  mode  of  treating  them.  His 
text  always  pointed  directly  to  his  subject;  and  his 
thoughts  were  so  consecutively  and  logically  arranged, 


HIS  GENERAL  CHARACTER.         887 

Lucid  style.  AVit. 

and  so  clearly  and  forcibly  expressed,  that  it  must 
have  required  an  uncommonly  obtuse  or  wandering 
mind  either  to  have  withheld  attention  or  to  have 
resisted  impression.  He  always  led  his  hearers  in  a 
perfectly  open  and  luminous  track,  and  no  one  ever 
hesitated  a  moment  as  to  the  import  of  what  he  was 
saying;  but  he  was  as  far  as  possible  from  being  com- 
monplace, in  any  proper  sense  of  that  term,  either  in 
matter  or  manner;  his  thoughts,  though  always  flow- 
ing naturally  from  his  text,  were  sometimes  exceed- 
ingly striking,  and  he  would  often  condense  into  a 
single  sentence  what  it  might  take  hours  of  reflection 
in  the  hearer  to  digest.  His  manner,  though  entirely 
free  from  every  thing  like  awkwardness,  was  charac- 
terized rather  by  force  and  dignity  than  grace.  He 
retained  enough  of  the  Irish  accent  to  betray  his  na- 
tionality, but  not  enough  to  offend  any  American 
taste,  or  to  impair  in  the  least  degree  the  effect  of  his 
utterance.  And  I  may  add  that,  while  his  services  in 
the  pulpit  were  usually  characterized  by  much  more 
than  ordinary  solemnity  and  impressiveness,  so  natu- 
ral to  him  as  his  breath  was  his  wit,  that  an  occasional 
and  apparently  unconscious  flash  of  it  would  some- 
times brighten  the  countenances  of  his  audience  into 
a  momentary  smile,  though  the  next  sentence  would 
be  pretty  sure  to  restore  the  accustomed  gravity  even 
to  those  who  had  approached  nearest  to  a  laugh.  I 
never  heard  him  preach  except  from  a  manuscript, 
and  therefore  can  not  speak  from  personal  knowledge 
of  his  extemporaneous  efforts  in  the  pulpit  or  the  lec- 
ture-room, though  I  should  suppose  that  the  exuber^ 


888         HIS  GENERAL  CHARACTER, 

Accuracy.  A  true  Catliolic. 

ance  of  liis  wit  would  have  been  more  likely  to  dis- 
cover itself  in  his  unstudied  than  in  his  written  pro- 
ductions. His  written  discourses  were  all  framed  and 
executed  with  the  utmost  care;  and  so  thoroughly  had 
he  trained  himself  to  precision  and  accuracy  in  writ- 
ing, that  it  was  a  rare  thing  that  he  ever  had  occasion 
to  erase  or  substitute  a  word.  I  have  heard  him  say 
that  it  was  a  rule  with  him  to  begin  his  sermon  (he 
rarely  wrote  more  than  one  a  week),  at  least  so  far  as 
to  choose  his  subject  and  arrange  his  thoughts,  on 
Monday,  and  then  he  gradually  proceeded,  giving  to 
it  the  best  part  of  each  day,  until  Friday,  when  it  was 
completed,  leaving  to  him  Saturday  as  a  day  of  rest 
preparatory  to  the  labors  of  the  Sabbath.  I  do  not 
know  exactly  the  number  of  his  written  sermons,  but 
my  impression  is  that  it  somewhat  exceeds  a  thou- 
sand, all  accurately  numbered  and  dated ;  and  if  an- 
other equal  number  of  sermons  can  be  found  written 
with  equal  care,  and  accuracy,  and  legibility,  as  if  each 
one  was  intended  to  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  the 
printer,  I  know  not  where  to  look  for  them. 

"Dr.  Murray  was,  in  principle  and  practice,  not  only 
a  thorough  Presbyterian,  but  a  thorough  Old-School 
Presbyterian,  and  he  never  hesitated,  when  occasion 
required,  either  to  avow  or  to  defend  his  denomina- 
tional preferences.  But  no  man  was  farther  than  he 
from  every  thing  like  sectarian  bigotry.  Though  not 
a  particle  of  Roman  Catholicism  lingered  either  in  his 
mind  or  heart,  in  true  Christian  Catholicism  —  that 
quality  that  promptly  recognizes  and  cordially  wel- 
comes the  image  of  Christ  amid  undesirable  and  even 


HIS  GENERAL   CHARACTER.  389 

Liberality.  Roman  Catholics. 

revolting  associations — I  may  safely  say  that  he  yield- 
ed to  none  of  his  brethren.  I  have  more  than  once 
heard  him  say  that  he  could  not  possibly  sympathize 
with  that  spirit  that  could  find  nothing  to  fellowship 
outside  of  its  own  denomination;  and  I  have  heard 
several  clergymen  of  different  communions,  who  were 
thrown  into  his  immediate  neighborhood,  render  a 
most  cordial  and  cheerful  testimony  to  the  uniform 
Christian  courtesy  and  kindliness  which  marked  his 
intercourse  with  them.  Every  body  knows  that,  in 
his  controversy  with  the  Eoman  Catholics,  not  only 
his  clear,  strong  intellect,  his  vast  stores  of  informa- 
tion, and  his  dark  and  sad  early  experience  were  put 
in  requisition,  but  also  the  power  of  scathing  sarcasm, 
in  which  it  was  not  easy  to  find  his  rival.  But  those 
who  knew  him  well  knew  that  his  heart  yearned  with 
sympathy  for  the  great  mass  of  the  Eoman  Catholics, 
knowing,  as  he  did,  that  their  ignorance  was  heredita- 
ry, and  fortified  by  influences  which,  under  ordinary 
circumstances,  they  could  not  be  expected  to  resist. 
Whenever  he  was  brought  in  contact  with  them  he 
always  evinced  toward  them  the  utmost  good-will,  and 
they  could  not  be  long  with  him  without  becoming 
sensible  that  he  was  their  friend.  On  one  occasion, 
as  he  informed  me,  just  as  he  was  getting  into  the  car 
to  leave  Utica,  a  young  girl  entered  alone,  whose  ap- 
pearance indicated  her  Irish  extraction.  He  took  a 
seat  by  the  side  of  her,  and  quickly  found  that  she 
was  a  Roman  Catholic,  and  was  on  her  way  to  Ro- 
chester, where  she  expected  to  meet  her  brother.  As 
she  was  traveling  without  a  protector,  he  made  him- 


390         HIS  GENERAL  CHARACTER. 


Social  powers. 


self  as  agreeable  and  useful  to  her  as  he  could  during 
the  journey,  while  she,  in  turn,  was  by  no  means  spar- 
ing in  her  expressions  of  gratification  and  thankful- 
ness. As  the  train  entered  the  depot  in  Rochester, 
her  brother,  who  seemed  a  very  decent  man,  was  wait- 
ing to  receive  her;  and  then  it  was  that  she  first 
learned  that  the  friend  who  had  devoted  himself  so 
much  to  her  during  the  day  was  no  other  than  KlR- 
WAN,  Bishop  Hughes's  great  antagonist. 

"In  no  relation  do  I  think  of  Dr.  Murray  with 
more  interest  than  that  of  a  companion  and  friend. 
With  intellectual  powers  of  a  very  high  order,  with 
great  freedom  and  facility  of  communication,  and  that 
remarkable  aptness  which  enabled  him  always  to  say 
the  right  word  at  the  right  time,  he  combined  as  much 
of  frankness,  and  kindliness,  and  generosity  as  we  can 
expect  ever  to  find  in  this  imperfect  and  erring  world. 
His  very  extensive  general  information  made  him  at 
home  on  almost  every  subject,  and  in  all  practical  mat- 
ters he  was  fruitful  in  wise  and  seasonable  suggestions. 
At  the  same  time,  his  coruscations  of  wit  kept  all  list- 
eners and  lookers-on  in  good  humor,  and  often  sup- 
plied material  for  pleasant  recollection  and  conversa- 
tion for  a  good  while  afterward.  When  he  came  to 
us  on  his  annual  visit,  he  usually  not  only  passed  the 
Sabbath,  but  remained  over  Monday,  and  on  Monday 
evening  we  had  generally  a  small  circle  of  friends  to 
exchange  salutations  with  him.  On  those  occasions 
nothing  could  exceed  the  bright  actings  of  his  mind 
and  the  genial  actings  of  his  spirit  toward  every  body 
with  whom  he  came  in  contact.     Without  the  least 


HIS  GENERAL   CHARACTER.  391 


attempt  at  any  thing  like  self-display,  or  the  assump- 
tion of  what  did  not  belong  to  him,  he  was  always  the 
centre  of  attraction  to  the  whole  circle;  and  all  seem- 
ed to  feel-ladies  as  well  as  gentlemen-that  the  near- 
er they  got  to  him,  and  the  longer  they  staid  by  him, 
the  better  was  the  object  of  their  visit  accomplished. 
And  I  have  heard  some  members  of  my  congregation, 
who  have  been  accustomed  to  meet  him  at  Saratoga 
Springs,  say  that  his  presence  there  was  always  greet- 
ed as°a  benediction;   that  not   only  ministers   bu 
judges,  and  lawyers,  and  doctors,  and  last,  though  not 
leas?,  ladies,  were  always  delighted  to  find  themselves 

in  his  society.  ,      p 

»  But  no  one  could  fully  appreciate  the  strength  ot 
Dr  Murray's  affection,  or,  I  may  add,  the  dignity  ot 
his  character,  who  did  not  see  him  in  his  own  happy 
home'    My  visits  there,  which  gave  me  an  oppor- 
tunity of  seeing  what  he  was  in  the  tenderest  rela- 
tions, come  up  to  me  now  in  sorrowful  b^t  gra  f 
recollection,  as  having  marked  some  of  the  brightest 
spots  in  my  life's  journey.     With  ^/^f  ^7.  f^^^ 
noble  qualities  both  of  intellect  and  of  heart  he  per- 
fectly appreciated ;  with  children  full  of  love,  and  life, 
and  promise,  to  whom  his  smile  was  sunshme,  and  who 
knew  no  earthly  bliss  above  that  of  making  him  hap- 
py and  with  the  ability  to  enjoy  and  communicate 
as  much  of  domestic  happiness  as  any  one  I  have  ever 
known,  he  was  certainly  pre-eminently  blessed  and 
pre-eminently  a  blessing  in  his  own  endeared  circle. 
His  eldest  daughter,  his  much-loved  Lizzie,  who  pre- 
ceded him  to  the  grave  by  a  year  or  two,  possessed  al- 


392  HIS   GENERAL   CHARACTER. 

Eldest  daughter.  Christian  character. 

most  matchless  attractions.  In  the  progress  of  her 
decline,  I  knew  how  his  heart  had  been  kept  bleeding, 
and  how,  for  months,  he  had  been  alternating  between 
hope  and  fear,  until  death  finally  made  the  decision. 
I  was  unable  to  be  present  at  her  funeral;  indeed, 
knowing  the  unusual  pressure  of  my  engagements  at 
the  time,  he  very  considerately  sent  a  request  that  I 
would  not  come.  I  met  him  not  long  after,  and  was 
prepared  to  see  him  saddened  and  bowed  by  his  afiiic- 
tion ;  but,  instead  of  that,  he  evinced  all  his  accustom- 
ed cheerfulness.  He  talked  freely  of  the  loved  one 
who  was  gone,  and  walked  with  me  into  the  grave- 
yard, and  we  stood  together  beside  the  spot  where 
they  had  laid  her;  but  his  mind  was  evidently  flying 
off  to  the  glorious  habitation  of  her  ransomed  spirit. 
And  what  I  witnessed  on  that  occasion,  I  have  been 
assured,  was  but  a  specimen  of  his  conduct  on  all  sim- 
ilar occasions.  While  his  children  were  spared  to 
him,  he  cherished  them  with  the  strongest  parental 
affection ;  but  when  it  pleased  God  to  take  them  away, 
he  reverently  recognized  His  superior  right  to  them, 
and,  instead  of  yielding  to  despondency,  only  found 
in  their  removal  a  fresh  motive  to  a  more  earnest  and 
cheerful  devotion  to  his  work. 

"  I  must  say  a  word  of  the  eminent  Christian  char- 
acter of  my  lamented  friend ;  for,  though  I  am  well 
aware  that  none  who  knew  him  well  would  need  any 
other  assurances  on  this  subject  than  have  been  sup- 
plied by  their  own  observation,  yet  I  can  imagine  that 
some,  who  have  only  had  a  glance  at  the  exterior  of 
his  life,  while  he  was  relaxing  from  his  severe  duties, 


HIS  GENERAL  CHAKACTER.  893 


Sympathy. 


may  have  formed  an  inadequate  estimate  of  his  spirit- 
uality.    The  grand  palpable  evidence  of  the  strength 
of  his  religious  character  was  his  steady  and  consist- 
ent course  of  devotion  to  his  work.     But  those  who 
were  brought  near  to  him,  and  especially  his  intimate 
friends,  knew  that  his  heart  was  ever  awake  to  those 
themes  which   have   the    most  vital  bearing   upon 
Christian  experience.     He  had,  indeed,  a  great  abhor- 
rence of  every  thing  like  cant  and  vainglory  in  re- 
ligion ;  and  it  is  believed  that  he  very  rarely,  even  in 
the  most  confidential  intercourse  of  Christian  friend- 
ship, said  much  of  his  own  private  rehgious  feelings; 
but  the  tone  of  his  spirit  was  easily  inferred  from  the 
deep  interest  he  took  in  conversations  of  a  decidedly 
experimental  character.     He  always  showed  himself 
interested  in  whatever  involved  the  spiritual  well- 
being  of  any  of  his  fellow-men,  or  the  general  pros- 
perity of  Christ's  kingdom,  and,  what  was  still  more, 
he  was  always  ready  to  put  forth  vigorous  efforts  in 
aid  of  either  whenever  it  was  in  his  power. 

"  Scarcely  any  thing  in  Dr.  Murray's  character  has 
impressed  me  more  strongly  than  the  interest  which 
he  took  in  every  body  around  him,  and  the  facility 
with  which  he  could  turn  his  hand  to  the  aid  of  any 
benevolent  or  useful  project.  I  have  been  struck 
with  the  fact,  when  walking  with  him  in  the  streets 
of  Elizabeth,  that  every  body  whom  he  met  seemed 
to  be  in  the  most  friendly  relations  to  him ;  and  when 
I  have  inquired  whether  such  and  such  persons,  who 
have  seemed  remarkably  cordial,  were  members  of 
his  congregation,  the  answer  has  often  been  that  they 

R2 


394  HIS   GENERAL   CHARACTER. 

Public  spiiif.  Slavery. 

were  Episcopalians,  or  Methodists,  or  perhaps  belong- 
ed to  one  of  the  other  Presbyterian  churches.  I  have 
been  assured  that  no  object  of  public  utility  could 
present  itself  in  the  town  of  which  he  did  not  at  once 
stand  forth  as  the  advocate  and  supporter;  if  judi- 
cious counsel  was  wanted,  he  was  ready  to  render  it ; 
if  efforts  and  sacrifices  were  demanded,  he  did  not 
hesitate  to  make  them ;  and  by  this  prompt  and  un- 
solicited exercise  of  public  spirit,  he  identified  himself 
with  the  entire  community  in  which  he  lived.  On 
the  day  of  his  funeral,  it  was  manifest  that  we  were 
in  the  midst,  not  of  a  mourning  congregation  onlv, 
but  of  a  mourning  city.  The  first  bell  that  tolled, 
after  the  procession  began  to  move,  was  the  bell  of  a 
church  which  is,  perhaps,  as  far  from  any  denomina- 
tional sympathy  with  Dr.  Murray's  as  is  consistent 
with  both  being  Protestant;  and  the  rector  of  that 
church,  to  his  honor  be  it  recorded,  addressed  to  Mrs. 
Murray  a  letter  of  condolence,  paying  a  just  and  beau- 
tiful tribute  to  the  memory  of  her  departed  husband. 
I  heard  it  stated  that  even  Jews  and  Roman  Catho- 
lics closed  their  places  of  business  during  the  hour  of 
the  funeral  solemnities. 

"  There  is  one  point  more  on  which  I  wish  to  say 
a  single  word,  because  I  happen  to  know  that  Dr. 
Murray's  views  in  respect  to  it  have  been,  to  some 
extent,  misapprehended — it  is  the  matter  of  slavery. 
A  friend  of  mine,  and  a  gentleman  of  great  worth 
and  respectability,  residing  in  Illinois,  wrote  me,  short- 
ly after  Dr.  Murray's  death,  that  while  he  had  a  very 
high  estimate  of  the  ability  and  general  character  of 


HIS  GENERAL  CHARACTER.  395 


my  friend,  he  had  been  pained  to  learn  that  he  had 
given  the  aid  of  his  name,  if  not  of  his  pen,  to  the 
cause  of  slavery;  and,  if  I  have  been  correctly  inform- 
ed the  same  impression  has  prevailed,  to  some  ex- 
tent in  other  quarters.     I  have  heard  him  express 
his  opinion  on  this  subject  so  often  that  I  think  I  can 
not  have  fallen  into  any  mistake  in  respect  to  it.     He 
was,  indeed,  far  from  having  any  sympathy  with  the 
party  technically  termed  "Abolitionists"  at  the  North; 
on  the  contrary,  he  believed  that  theirs  was  a  mission 
of  unmixed  evil;  and  this  opinion  he  never  hesitated 
to  express  on  either  side  of  the  Atlantic.     But  he 
considered  slavery,  as  it  exists  in  our  country,  not 
merely  in  the  light  of  a  calamity,  but  as  involving 
great  national  guilt ;  and  he  wrote  me,  only  a  few 
weeks  before  his  death,  that  he  had  just  preached  a 
sermon  in  which  he  had  protested  against  human  be- 
ings being  bought  and  sold  as  "chattels."     It  pleased 
a  gracious  Providence  to  call  him  home  before  the 
present  reign  of  terror  and  distress  throughout  the 
country  was  fairly  inaugurated;  but  he  lived  long 
enough  to  see  the  clouds  begin  to  gather,  and  to  de- 
liver, on  more  than  one  occasion,  the  most  earnest 
and  impressive  testimony  in  favor  of  the  government 
which  he  saw  threatened  with  formidable  attack,  and 
even  utter  extinction. 

"  I  fear,  my  dear  sir,  that  this  communication  may 
prove  of  an  inconvenient  length,  and  yet  knowing,  as 
I  do,  how  cordially  you  respond  to  every  effort  to 
honor  and  embalm  the  memory  of  our  dear  departed 
friend,  I  have  no  doubt  that  you  will  be  tolerant  of 


396         HIS  GENERAL  CHARACTER. 

Conclusion. 

any  error  I  may  have  committed  in  that  direction. 
As  Dr.  Murray  was  a  man,  he  must,  of  course,  like  all 
other  men,  have  had  his  infirmities,  but  what  they 
were  I  leave  it  to  those  who  looked  at  him  with  eyes 
different  from  mine  to  describe.  I  will  only  add,  that 
I  heartily  rejoice  that  the  writing  of  his  life  has  de- 
volved upon  the  person  whom,  of  all  others,  I  should 
have  selected  as  the  one  who  is  in  every  respect  best 
qualified  to  do  justice  to  his  memory. 

"I  am,  my  dear  sir,  with  great  regard,  faithfully 
your  friend,  W.  B.  Sprague." 


LETTEKS   FROM   THOSE   WHO   KNEW   HIM.       897 


Dr.  Edgar's  letter.  Kirwan  I.ettera. 


CHAPTEE  XXI. 

Letter  from  Rev.  Dr.  Edgar.  — Eev.  Prof.  Gibson.  — Mrs.  Duncan.— 
Mrs.  Jones.— Rev.  Mr.  Reinhart.— Rev.  Dr.  Chickering.  — Rev. 
Dr.  Childs.— Rev.  Dr.  Janeway.— Rev.  Dr.  Schenck. 

Bev.  Dr.  Edgar  to  Geo.  H.  Stuart,  Esq. 

"Belfast,  June  27tli,  1861. 

"My  dear  Mr.  Stuart, — In  furnishing  for  Dr. 
Prime's  work  reminiscences  of  our  dear  departed 
friend  Dr.  Murray,  I  desire  to  associate  them  with 
you,  not  only  because  his  love  for  you  was  enthusias- 
tic, but  be-cause  I  am  anxious  that  he  should  be  in 
death,  as  he  was  in  life,  a  bond  of  union  between  me 
and  one  for  whom  my  love  can  never  die. 

"  One  of  my  first  links  of  connection  with  him  was 
my  republishing  the  Kirwan  Letters,  which  first  made 
him  eminently  great.  Having  written  a  preface,  and 
added  notes  by  the  late  Dr.  Samuel  O.  Edgar,  I  issued, 
in  1850,  an  edition  of  five  thousand  copies  of  the  first 
series,  one  thousand  of  which  were  purchased  by  an 
eminent  lawyer ;  and  the  good  effected  by  them  veri- 
fied a  statement  of  the  preface,  that  they  were  repub- 
lished in  unhappy  Ireland,  not  chiefly  because  of  the 
talent  and  eloquence  which  distinguished  them,  but  be- 
cause, being  brief,  clear,  practical,  and  characterized  by 
genuine  good-nature  and  politeness,  they  are  well  qual- 
ified to  be  a  useful  manual  for  all,  especially  the  ig- 
norant and  young. 

"  When,  next  year,  I  issued  the  second  series,  my 


398       LETTERS  FROM  THOSE   WHO   KNEW   HIM. 

Popery.  \"isit  to  Ireland. 

distinguished  fellow-helper,  author  of  Edgar's  Varia- 
tions of  PoperT/^  was  no  more ;  and  in  a  preface  I  said, 
'  Had  his  life  been  a  little  prolonged,  he  might  have 
formed  a  personal  acquaintance  with  him  whom  he 
had  favorably  known  by  his  writings;  for  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Murray  has  visited  the  Old  "World,  and  been  en- 
thusiastically received  by  many  who  had  formed  a 
hisfh  estimate  of  the  convert  from  Romanism,  who  had 
done  as  much  as  any  other  in  the  "Western  "World  to 
breathe  Protestant  life  and  spirit  into  the  masses  of 
the  people.  His  Letters  have  commanded  in  Ameri- 
ca an  enormous  circulation.  A  chief  feature  of  their 
popularity  here  is  the  eagerness  with  which  they  are 
read  and  circulated  by  Roman  Catholics  in  districts 
blessed  with  scriptural  schools.' 

"  Of  his  visit  on  that  occasion  he  has  published  an 
account  in  his  work,  ^  Men  and  Things  as  I  saw  them 
in  Europe!'  He  accompanied  me  in  a  part  of  my 
annual  missionary  tour,  visiting  our  schools,  preach- 
ing in  our  missionary  stations,  received  as  an  honored 
guest  at  the  houses  of  landed  gentry — every  where  de- 
lighted by  interesting  scenes  and  society,  awakening 
the  liveliest  sympathies,  making  happy  friendships, 
and  leaving  impressions  never  to  be  forgotten. 

"  Some  time  after  he  sent  to  this  country  a  loved 
and  cherished  representative,  who,  first  for  her  father's 
sake,  and  then  for  her  own,  was  received  with  extreme 
kindness.  She  was  one  of  the  most  intensely  interest- 
ing of  beings  in  female  form  I  ever  saw.  So  fascina- 
ting, so  talented,  so  full  of  activit}^,  genius,  wisdom, 
kindness — and  beautiful  withal ;  but,  alas !  so  delicate, 


LETTERS   FROM  THOSE   WHO   KNEW   HIM.       899 
Daughter.  Irish  deputation. 

tiny,  worn — the  victim  of  many  a  disease,  and  yet  with 
an  elasticity,  buoyancy,  and  a  large-hearted  scriptural 
piety  and  devotedness  rising  above  all,  and  throwing 
over  all  a  soft  and  heavenly  radiance.  Her  likeness 
is  here  with  me  now ;  her  spirit  is  with  her  God.  He 
who  loved  her  best  could  keep  her  from  His  fond  bo- 
som no  longer.  '  Come  up  hither,'  He  said,  and  she 
was  not,  for  Grod  took  her.  Her  dying  expressions  of 
gratitude  and  love  endeared  to  the  heart  of  her  father 
and  mother  some,  like  our  friends  the  Moores,  of  Dub- 
lin, and  Miss  Holmes,  of  Clogher,  for  whose  noble  mis- 
sionary institution  in  Connaught  both  raised  munifi- 
cent contributions. 

"  The  effects  of  missionary  effort  shown  him  by 
Miss  Holmes  and  others  gave  deep  intensity  to  his 
zeal  for  our  Presbyterian  mission  to  Koraan  Catho- 
lics; and  I  need  not  say  how  often  or  earnestly  he 
and  you  pressed  me  to  undertake  a  deputation  to  the 
United  States  to  obtain  support  for  that  mission. 
The  time  was  when  I  would  have  gladly  accepted  the 
invitation,  but  that  time  was  past  then ;  and  though 
I  labored  to  secure  a  deputation,  I  had  resolved  not 
to  be  on  it,  when  a  letter  from  an  influential  quarter 
in  America  changed  my  plan ;  for  that  letter,  in  con- 
tradiction to  the  statements  of  yourself  and  Dr.  Mur- 
ray, asserted  that  America  would  give  no  welcome 
and  no  money  to  Irish  Presbyterian  missions,  and  as- 
signed reasons  unfounded  and  provoking.  I  wrote 
to  you  both,  and  your  answers  determined  me  to  go, 
no  matter  what  the  sacrifice.  Some,  on  whom  I  de- 
pended, declined ;  but  if  I  did  too,  it  would  have  been 


400       LETTERS  FROM  THOSE  T7H0   KNEW   HIM. 


Farewell  meeting. 


a  personal  insult  to  friends  who  showed  exceeding 
kindness,  and  who  were  so  able  to  realize  the  hopes 
they  raised. 

"With  my  brethren  I  went,  and  prospered  beyond 
all  precedent,  upward  of  six  thousand  pounds  sterling 
for  our  mission  being  only  part  of  the  large  and  va- 
ried fruit  of  that  most  efifective  delegation. 

"  Of  our  obligations  to  Dr.  Murray  and  you  for  our 
success  we  spoke  truly  at  our  farewell  meeting,  but 
far  from  the  sum  total  of  the  truth  when  we  said, 
'  Among  the  many  of  highest  name  and  worth  who 
have  laid  us  under  deep  obligations,  we  are  bound  in 
gratitude  to  give  a  distinguished  place  to  Dr.  Murray 
and  George  Hay  Stuart,  Esq.,  not  merely  because  it 
was  chiefly  on  their  invitation  and  by  their  advice 
that  we  visited  your  country,  but  because  their  time, 
and  talents,  and  influence,  and  unceasing  anxious  la- 
bor have  been  devoted  to  promote  the  objects  of 
our  mission  with  an  earnestness,  wisdom,  and  success 
which  wc  have  never  seen  equaled,  and  which  we  can 
neither  fully  estimate  nor  describe.  To  these  noble 
sons  of  old  Ireland,  and  the  influence  which  their 
name  and  character  wield  in  the  great  new  world  of 
their  adoption,  we  chiefly  owe  the  large  and  triumph- 
ant success  which  has  crowned  our  enterprise.' 

"Little  did  I  think,  while  reading  this,  amid  the 
splendid  hospitalities  of  Dr.  Prime,  how  soon  a  pre- 
cious gem  of  that  shining  circle  would  drop  away. 
Oh!  what  melancholy  would  have  filled  the  inmost 
heart  of  that  great  meeting  had  wc  known  how  soon 
would  be  verified,  in  the  prophet  himself,  the  predic- 


LETTEKS  FROM  THOSE  WHO   KNEW  HIM.       401 
Fulton  Street  meeting.  The  Irish  boy. 

tion  uttered  by  Dr.  Murray  at  the  Fulton  Street  fare- 
well meeting,  when,  pointing  to  me,  he  said, '  You  will 
come  to  our  shores  no  more.  These  junior  brethren 
may  come  to  this  country  again,  but  we  shall  not  be 
here.     We  shall  see  your  faces  no  more.' 

"In  the  young  land  of  his  wife  and  his  children, 
he  shall  see  their  faces  no  more ;  but  in  the  old  laud 
of  his  father's  and  mother's  grave  he  did  see  them,  to 
rejoice  with  them,  and  over  them,  and  to  be  received 
by  their  exulting  families  with  ecstasy  and  triumph. 

"  You  were  our  inseparable  companion  through  all 
our  long  and  most  enchanting  and  successful  mis- 
sionary tour  in  the  centre,  south,  and  west  of  dear  old 
Ireland,  and  you  can  tell  how,  with  open  arms,  we 
were  every  where  received — how  private  carriages 
were  waiting  for  us  every  where  we  stopped — how  we 
were  ministered  to  by  the  fair,  the  fascinating,  and  the 
good — how  crowds  flocked  from  far  to  welcome  and 
to  hear — how  the  fame  of  our  venerable  companion 
traveled  before  him — how  highly  his  religious  services 
were  prized — how  joyous  the  greetings,  and  the  part- 
ings how  sad — how  deeply  he  felt  poor  Ireland's  deg- 
radation— and  how,  as  at  Allan  Pollok's  and  other 
places,  he  gloried  in  her  regeneration  ;  and  with  what 
hearty,  exulting  good-will  he  welcomed  and  answered 
genuine  Irish  wit  and  humor,  even  when  playing  on 
lips  pale  and  thin  with  hunger,  or  flashing  in  the  dark 
hovels  of  sordid  poverty.  You  knew  him  long  and 
well,  but  you  never  knew  Nicholas  Murray,  the  Eom- 
ish  Irish  boy,  the  eminent  Protestant  divine,  so  thor- 
oughly himself,  in  the  length  and  breadth  of  his  char- 


402       LETTERS   FROM  THOSE   WHO   KNEW   HIM. 

In  Ireland.  In  London. 

acter  great  and  good,  as  in  Dublin,  Killarney,  Cork, 
Limerick,  Galway,  Ballinasloe,  and  through  all  the 
bounds  of  the  Presbytery  of  Athlone.  The  Presby- 
tery of  Athlone  acted  nobly,  and  gave  him  and  you 
a  reception  worthy  of  old  hospitable  Ireland,  and  of 
great  America  too  ;  and  I  hope  to  be  long  welcome  in 
those  parts,  on  account  of  the  loved  companions  I  once 
had  there,  and  the  amount  of  happiness  and  benefit 
thus  brought  to  their  homes.  Alas!  how  little  did 
you  or  he  know  that  every  where  you  were  adding  to 
the  burden  of  a  loud  Irish  cry,  and  preparing  a  deep- 
er, wider  wail  for  his  early  grave. 

"  Full  of  honor  and  of  gratification,  you  returned  to 
my  home,  but  not  to  rest,  for  the  calls  of  hospitality, 
friendship,  and,  above  all,  anxiety  to  hear,  dragged 
you  hither  and  thither,  every  where  welcome,  every 
where  applauded,  and  furnished,  on  all  hands,  with 
large  opportunities  for  good.  Your  career  from  Bel- 
fast to  Derry,  with  such  a  succession  of  enormous  ad- 
miring crowds,  was  a  triumphant  march  ;  but  what  of 
that  ?  It  was  a  great  series  of  occasions,  happily  and 
successfully  improved,  for  winning  souls  and  honor- 
ing their  Savior. 

"My  next  and  last  meeting  with  him  and  you  was 
in  the  centre  of  London's  most  neglected  throng  ;  and 
yet,  even  in  that  home  of  infamy  and  crime,  there 
were  that  night  symptoms  of  reformation  which  is 
spreading  so  rapidly  now.  An  earnest  lad,  preaching 
in  one  of  the  vilest  streets,  bad  round  him  a  little 
listening  throng;  school  houses  lately  opened  gave 
ground  for  hope ;  and  the  innocent  gayety  of  children 


LETTERS  FROM  THOSE  "WHO   KNEW  HIM.       403 
At  rest.  Professor  Gibson. 

playing  in  the  street  so  joyfully  amid  poverty,  igno- 
rance, and  crime,  seemed  to  say  that  neglect  and 
wretchedness  would  not  always  be  the  lot  of  the  Lon- 
don poor. 

"He  who  saw  London's  dark  night  then  has  not 
lived  to  see  its  day.  He  is  now  among  the  increasing 
evidences  of  his  Savior's  triumphs,  as  one  and  another 
of  Christ's  redeemed  join  the  heavenly  throng;  and, 
for  aught  we  know,  he  has  made  acquaintance  already, 
in  the  home  of  the  blessed,  with  some  who  were  to 
him  that  night  subjects  of  deep  sympathy  and  ejacu- 
latory  prayer.  Dr.  Murray  is  no  more,  and  no  thought 
regarding  him  presses  on  my  spirit,  in  American  war, 
like  this — '  The  righteous  is  taken  away  from  the  evil 
to  come.'     Ever  devotedly  yours, 

"John  Edgar." 

From  the  Rev.  Prof.  Gibson^  Belfast. 
"  It  was  in  the  summer  of  1851  that  Dr.  Murray,  of 
Elizabethtown,  after  a  long  absence,  revisited,  for  the 
first  time,  the  shores  of  his  native  land.  He  had,  in 
company  with  other  fellow-travelers,  been  wandering 
over  Continental  countries,  where  he  enjoyed  the  op- 
portunity of  studying,  with  more  striking  practical  de- 
velopments, the  system  of  the  Papacy,  against  which 
he  had  so  successfully  girded  himself  to  battle,  as  an 
intrepid  champion  of  Protestant  truth.  We  had  long 
been  familiar  with  his  name  and  achievements,  and 
rejoiced  to  welcome  him  among  us  as  a  true-hearted 
son  of  Erin,  who,  by  his  native  genius  and  force  of  in- 
tellect, had  risen  to  a  position  of  eminence  and  influ- 


404       LETTERS   FROM  THOSE  WHO   KNEW   HI3J. 
General  Assembly.  Breakfa.st. 

ence  in  that  great  country  to  wliicli  we  are  allied  by 
so  many  ties  of  kindred  and  of  faith.  The  period  at 
which  he  visited  us  was  during  the  sittings  of  our 
General  Assembly  in  the  metropolis  of  Ulster,  and 
gladly  did  we  seize  the  occasion  to  extend  to  him  the 
right  hand  of  fellowship.  It  was  at  the  same  meeting 
that  we  were  favored  with  the  presence  of  the  apos- 
tolic Duff,  whose  overwhelming  appeals  for  the  pros- 
trate millions  of  India  have  done  so  much  both  in 
America  and  here  to  fire  the  Churches  with  a  portion 
of  his  own  sublime  and  sanctified  enthusiasm.  Before 
the  assembly  rose,  Dr.  Murray  was  invited  to  address 
the  house,  which  he  did  with  characteristic  power  and 
eloquence,  referring  more  particularly  to  the  impres- 
sions made  upon  his  mind  by  what  he  had  lately  wit- 
nessed of  the  Komish  system  on  the  European  Conti- 
nent, and  especially  in  Rome  itself.  At  a  public 
breakfast  a  few  days  previously,  he  and  his  fellow- 
traveler,  Dr.  Breckinridge,  then  of  Louisville,  Ken- 
tucky, together  with  Dr.  Duff,  had  been  welcomed  to 
Ireland.  The  greater  portion  of  his  time  during  that 
brief  sojourn  was  occupied  in  visiting  those  parts  of 
the  country  where  Eomanism  has  been  in  the  ascend- 
ant, and  his  impressions  in  reference  to  which  he  gave 
in  a  permanent  form,  on  his  return,  to  the  American 
public.  While  he  remained  in  the  North  he  had  fre- 
quent opportunities  of  mingling  with  us  in  social  in- 
tercourse, in  which  he  drew  all  hearts  toward  him  by 
those  rare  quahties  which,  wherever  he  went,  rendered 
him  one  of  the  most  charming  companions,  whose  pres- 
ence ever  brought  along  with  it  smiles  and  sunshine. 


LETTERS  FROM  THOSE   WHO   KNEW  HIM.       405 


Hudson  Kiver.  Saratoga  Springs. 

"  Seven  years  after,  and  I  had  the  happiness  of  re- 
newing my  acquaintance  with  Dr.  Murray  on  the  oth- 
er side  of  the  Atlantic.     I  had  been  traveling  with 
my  friend  and  fellow-deputy,  Mr.  M'Clure,  of  Derry, 
from  New  York  to  Albany,  on  my  way  to  Canada, 
and,  sailing  up  the  noble  river  which  connects  these 
cities,  had  casually  been  informed  that  Dr.  Murray  had 
a  few  days  before  gone  to  Saratoga,  it  being  the  sea- 
son when  the  American  citizens  are  in  the  habit  of 
repairing  to  that  celebrated  watering-place.     We  re- 
solved, accordingly,  to  make  a  slight  detour  off  the  di- 
rect line  for  the  purpose  of  meeting  one  from  whom 
we  were  persuaded,  whether  at  home  or  elsewhere,  we 
should  receive  a  cordial  welcome.     Arriving  at  Sara- 
toga, we  came  into  contact  with  our  friend  almost  im- 
mediately, returning  from  one  of  the  morning  meet- 
ings for  prayer  held  daily  in  the  place,  as  a  means,  un- 
der the  Divine  blessing,  of  perpetuating  and  extending 
the  influence  of  the  great  American  awakening  of  the 
preceding  winter.     Recognizing  us  at  once  in  the  dis- 
tance, he  hailed  us  with  the  affectionate  cordiality  of  a 
brother,  placed  himself  at  our  disposal  for  the  day,  in- 
troduced us  to  the  far-famed  Springs,  gave  us  the  en- 
tree of  the  hotel  at  which  he  had  taken  up  his  quar- 
ters, and  after  dinner,  and  a  drive  around  the  neighbor- 
hood, accompanied  us  to  the  railway  station  on  our 
onward  route,  and  took  his  leave  in  the  expectation 
of  our  meeting  again,  as  we  did  some  two  months  aft- 
er, under  his  own  hospitable  roof     In  the  course  of 
our  conversation  I  had  mentioned  that  my  son,  a  stu- 
dent of  theology,  was  on  a  visit  also  in  another  part 


406       LETTERS   FROM  THOSE  "WHO   KNEW  HIM. 


Synod  of  New  Jeraey. 


of  the  States,  and  ere  we  parted  Dr.  Murray  suggested 
that,  being  in  the  countr}',  he  should  remain  for  the 
sake  of  prosecuting  his  studies  during  the  ensuing  ses- 
sion at  Princeton,  offering,  in  the  kindest  manner,  to 
introduce  him  to  the  professors  of  that  distinguished 
seminary.  I  may  add  that,  after  giving  the  matter 
due  consideration,  the  suggestion  was  adopted,  and  I 
shall  ever  regard  it  as  a  subject  of  congratulation  that 
my  son  enjoyed  the  inestimable  advantages  of  a  win- 
ter's tuition  under  those  masters  in  Israel  whose  praise 
is  in  all  the  Churches.  To  the  student  in  question, 
now  for  two  years  a  minister  in  the  Irish  Presbyterian 
Church,  Dr.  Murray  acted  throughout  with  the  con- 
siderate attention  of  a  friend  and  father,  introducing 
him  in  the  ensuing  spring  to  the  Presbytery  of  Eliza- 
bethtown,  by  whom  he  was  licensed  to  preach  the 
Gospel,  and  subsequently  receiving  him  into  his  pul- 
pit, where  he  delivered  his  first  sermon.  The  letter 
which  Dr.  Murray  addressed  to  mj^sclf  immediately 
after  is  before  me  as  I  write,  and  breathes  those  senti- 
ments which  he  knew  would  be  peculiarly  grateful  to 
a  parent's  heart. 

"  In  due  time  I  visited  my  esteemed  friend  at  his 
own  residence,  but  not  till  after  having  experienced, 
on  two  successive  public  occasions,  his  kind  offices. 
The  Synod  of  New  Jersey  had  been  holding  its  an- 
nual meeting  in  Trenton,  and,  through  the  agency  of 
Dr.  Murray,  my  friend  from  Ireland  and  myself  were 
honored  with  an  invitation  to  attend.  With  the  re- 
quest we  gratefully  complied,  and  had  the  pleasure 
of  addressing  that  reverend  court  and  of  receiving 


LETTERS  FROM  THOSE   WHO   KNEW   HIM.       407 
Ilospitalities.  Dr.  Alexander. 

their  fraternal  greeting.  We  also  shared,  through  the 
same  kind  instrumentality,  the  hospitable  attentions, 
of  which  we  shall  ever  cherish  the  recollection,  of 
Chief  Justice  Gi;een,  one  of  the  most  eminent  of  the 
American  bench.  The  other  occasion  I  refer  to  was 
in  Philadelphia,  where,  under  the  auspices  of  that  no- 
ble Irishman  and  true  philanthropist,  George  H.  Stu- 
art, Esq.,  a  number  of  our  warm-hearted  friends  from 
the  'Old  Country,'  and  others,  including  Dr.  Boardraan 
and  several  of  his  brethren  of  various  denominations, 
held  a  social  meeting  in  honor  of  the  Irish  delegates, 
and  where  Dr.  Murray  delivered  one  of  his  raciest  ad- 
dresses on  his  fellow-countrymen  in  the  Old  World 
and  the  New. 

"  In  Elizabethtown  itself  I  spent  a  brief  but  happy 
time  in  that  pastoral  dwelling,  never  more,  alas !  to  be 
enlivened  by  the  radiant  countenance  of  its  honored 
head.  I  officiated  on  the  Sabbath  to  the  great  con- 
gregation over  which  he  presided,  one  of  the  most  in- 
fluential, as  it  seemed,  which  I  had  addressed.  On 
the  following  day  we  proceeded  together  to  New 
York,  where  I  was  introduced  by  him  to  Dr.  James 
Alexander,  and  others,  both  of  the  clergy  and  Chris- 
tian laity  of  that  city,  so  desirous  was  he  that  the 
Irish  stranger  should  form  the  acquaintance  of  those 
whom  he  so  highly  prized  among  his  adopted  coun- 
trymen. Of  these,  both  in  New  York  and  elsewhere, 
it  is  affecting  to  think  that  others  besides  himself  have 
since  then  fallen  in  the  full  maturity  of  their  strength, 
and  passed  away  forever  from  the  earth !  Where 
shall  we  look,  in  any  Church,  for  brethren  so  beloved 


408       LETTERS  FROM  THOSE  WHO   KNEW  HIM. 

In  Scotland.  Tri-centenary. 

as  the  Alexanders  and  the  Van  Kensselaers,  whose 
sun  has  gone  down  while  it  was  yet  shining  in  the 
meridian  of  its  splendor  ? 

"Scarcely  two  j^ears  elapsed  until  J  again  met  Dr. 
Murra}'',  not  upon  Irish  or  American,  but  Scottish 
soil.  The  Tri-centenary  of  the  Eeformation  under 
John  Knox  had  come,  and  the  Free  Church  of  Scot- 
land, the  noblest  representative  of  the  principles  of 
the  great  reformer,  was  occupied  in  the  commemo- 
ration of  that  event,  so  worthy  to  be  held  in  undy- 
ing remembrance  by  the  entire  Presbyterian  family 
throughout  the  world.  A  discourse  had  been  deliv- 
ered by  the  moderator,  the  Eev.  Dr.  Buchanan,  of 
Glasgow,  and  the  Assembly  having  engaged  in  an 
exercise  of  thanksgiving,  an  opportunity  was  afforded 
to  brethren  from  other  countries  to  take  part  in  the 
proceedings  of  the  auspicious  day.  As  moderator  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Ireland  for  that  year,  it 
was  my  privilege  to  be  first  called  on ;  and  after  an 
address,  in  which  I  took  occasion  to  refer  to  the  first 
planting  of  Presbytcrianism  in  America  by  ministers 
from  Ulster,  and  to  the  Scoto-Irish  element  as  not  the 
least  important  in  the  social  organization  of  the  Unit- 
ed States,  Dr.  Murray  was  introduced  to  the  Assem- 
bly. His  speech  was  of  the  genuine  '  true  blue'  Pres- 
byterian character,  not  unmixed  with  pleasantries, 
which  unmistakably  identified  the  speaker  with  the 
green  isle  from  which  he  sprung.  It  was  a  highly 
successful  effort,  and  was  received  with  hearty  demon- 
strations of  approval  from  the  house. 

"  In  the  months  of  June  and  July  in  that  year  Dr. 


LETTERS   FROM  THOSE   WHO   KNEW  HIM.       409 
In  Ireland.  Leave-taking. 

Murray  again  visited  his  native  land.  He  came  at  a 
period  of  unusual  interest ;  for  the  breath  of  the  Al- 
mighty had  breathed  upon  our  churches,  and,  after 
the  lapse  of  a  twelvemonth  since  the  great  revival, 
we  were  rejoicing  in  the  wide-spread  and  happy  reno- 
vation which  had  been  wrought.  Wherever  he  went, 
he  occupied  himself  in  making  inquiry  into  the  char- 
acter and  extent  of  that  spiritual  movement  which 
had  swept  so  widely  over  Ulster,  and  had  abundant 
opportunities  of  witnessing  its  pleasant  fruits.  From 
the  reports  which  were  submitted  to  the  General 
Synods  and  to  the  Assembly  he  prepared  a  digest, 
■which,  with  the  statement  of  his  own  experience,  was 
published  in  the  New  York  Observer,  to  which,  in 
the  midst  of  his  journeyings,  he  always  found  time  to 
send  a  carefully  considered  contribution.  He  looked 
as  hale  and  hearty  as  when  we  had  seen  him  ten 
years  before,  his  step  as  firm  and  his  eye  as  bright  as 
ever.  Wherever  he  went,  he  was  received  with  every 
demonstration  of  regard.  In  the  autumn  of  the  year 
preceding,  a  deputation  from  our  Church  had  visited 
America,  and  he  had  laid  us  under  weighty  obliga- 
tions by  the  generous  and  effectual  aid  he  rendered 
in  the  prosecution  of  their  mission. 

"  It  was  on  a  soft  summer  evening  that  he  took  a 
final  leave  of  us,  and  of  the  land  that  gave  him  birth, 
the  moderator  of  our  Assembly,  then  in  session,  and 
other  brethren,  accompanying  him  on  board  the  steam- 
er in  which  he  sailed  for  Liverpool.  A  minister  who 
was  a  fellow-passenger,  the  Eev.  J.  E.  M'Dougall,  of 
Florence,  has  since  informed  me  that  long  after  those 


410       LETTERS  FROM  THOSE  WHO   KNEW  HIM. 

Departure.  Mr^^.  Duncan. 

of  US  who  lined  the  shore  had  faded  from  the  view, 
he  stood  fixed  in  his  place  on  the  vessel,  waving  his 
adieus,  his  eye  resting  on  the  receding  laud,  and  his 
heart  evidently  too  full  for  utterance.  He  was  tak- 
ing his  last  fond  look  of  the  country  from  which  he 
went  forth,  in  the  noon  of  life,  an  unfriended  exile, 
and  his  attachment  to  which  continued  to  the  end, 
unabated  by  time  or  distance. 

"But  a  few  months  after,  and  we  were  deeply  af- 
fected by  the  announcement  of  strange  and  unexpect- 
ed tidings.  His  course  of  toil  was  finished,  and  he 
had  all  at  once  been  taken  up  and  away  from  those 
he  loved,  and  entered  into  his  rest.  Tenderly  did  we 
sympathize  with  the  weeping  family  and  widowed 
congregation,  and  universally  did  we  mourn  the  loss 
of  one  of  the  most  devoted  friends  of  our  Church  and 
country.  We  shall  see  his  face  no  more ;  but  fondly 
would  we  cherish  the  recollection  of  his  genial  pres- 
ence, and  revere  his  name  as  that  of  one  of  the  true 
men  of  the  earth — an  honor  both  to  the  land  of  his 
nativity  and  to  that  in  which  all  of  him  that  is  mortal 
reposes  until  the  resurrection  of  the  just." 

From  Mrs.  Duncan^  Edinhurgh. 

"7  India  Street,  April  20th,  1861. 

"My  very  dear  Friend, — Your  most  touching 
note  reached  me  a  few  days  since.  It  places  you,  with 
your  mournful  and  dutiful  heart,  before  me,  showing 
me  the  tears  which  you  must  shed,  and  the  longing  to 
show  forth  the  grace  of  God  as  it  was  displayed  in  the 
conversion  and  the  unfailing  protection  and  guidance 
of  your  honored  husband. 


LETTERS  FROM  THOSE   WHO   KNEW  HIM.       411 
Introduction.  Industry. 

"  I  can  not  refuse  to  "write,  but  I  feel  that  all  about 

him  was  so  right-forward,  combining  the  simplicity  of 

the  child  with  the  wisdom  and  experience  of  the  man, 

J;hat  I  can  tell  nothing  which  Dr.  Prime  has  not  seen 

and  rejoiced  in  himself. 

"  The  first  time  I  saw  Dr.  Murray  I  was  a  stranger, 
introduced  to  your  hospitality,  scarcely  aware  whither 
I  was  going,  by  Mrs.  Smith,  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Griffin, 
and  the  first  characteristic  that  came  forth  in  lively 
relief  was  the  genial  spirit  w^hich  instantly  displayed 
itself.  He  went  to  fetch  his  little  son  in  his  arms,  that 
he  might  cheer  the  Scottish  minister's  widow  by  show- 
ing me  his  little  Thomas  Chalmers ;  and  then  his  pa- 
rental heart  overflowed  with  hopes  that  the  child  might 
be  like  the  man,  with  some  sly,  smile-exciting  remarks 
about  the  size  of  his  head,  which  made  me  feel  as  if 
we  had  been  acquainted  long  before. 

"  On  a  more  mature  acquaintance,  his  mild  and  cheer- 
ful demeanor  at  home  was  remarkable.  A  balmy  in- 
fluence seemed  to  flow  from  him  which  soothed  all 
around.  While  he  trusted  all  domestic  details,  as  well 
he  might,  to  the  skill  and  energy  of  his  wife,  he  was 
not  abstracted,  as  many  men  are,  the  line  of  whose 
duties  is  diverse  from  their  families,  but  he  was  ever 
fully  prepared  to  sympathize  in  all  their  interests. 

"  His  exceeding  industry  could  not  fail  to  attract  no- 
tice. He  would  converse  in  the  circle,  and  enliven  us 
with  his  wit,  which  seemed  never  exhausted,  and  in  a 
moment  he  had  entered  his  study  and  was  plunged  in 
his  books  and  papers,  as  if  the  little  world  he  had  been 
smiling  on  were  very  far  away.     This  gift  of  industry, 


412       LETTERS   FROM   THOSE   WHO   KNEW   Hlil. 

Liverpool.  Conversational  powers. 

and  his  power  of  fixing  his  mind  readily  on  a  new 
subject,  accounts  for  the  facility  with  which  he  dashed 
off  papers  for  the  Observer  or  chastised  Bishop  Hughes. 

"When  he  was  in  Liverpool  in  1851,  by  his  own, 
request  we  waited  on  him  to  see  some  of  the  Eomish 
pictures  or  images  that  he  had  assembled  in  his  trav- 
els. The  servant  said  he  was  at  home,  but  very  busy ; 
however,  she  would  tell  him.  It  was  curious  to  see 
the  abstracted  countenance  with  which  he  entered 
yield  instantly  to  beaming  benevolence,  and  to  hear 
him  mingle  the  art  and  drollery  of  a  showman,  ridicul- 
ing the  mummeries  he  was  exhibiting,  with  the  Chris- 
tian's sigh  of  sorrow  that  the  Man  of  Sin  had  so  far  ru- 
ined the  Church  of  Christ. 

"  It  is  not  for  me,  who  have  heard  him  rarely,  to  re- 
mark on  his  Church  services.  I  enjoyed  them  at  Eliz- 
abethtown  and  in  Liverpool.  But  the  aspect  of  his 
crowded  congregation  led  me  to  observe  it  narrowly. 
I  hope  those  who  listened  then  are  enjoying  the  bless- 
ing now.  And  they  were  clearly  gathered  from  a  wide 
circle,  for  I  was  so  struck  with  the  number  of  vehicles 
on  the  green  when  we  left  the  church  that  I  numbered 
them,  and  they  amounted  to  fifty-three. 

"  Dr.  Murray's  conversational  powers  were  delight- 
ful ;  and  it  was  pleasing  to  find  his  natural  buoyancy 
and  wit  never  led  him  to  utter,  or  seemingly  to  imag- 
ine, any  idea  that  did  not  become  a  Christian ;  and  he 
was  always  prepared  to  gather  in  his  thoughts,  and 
engage  on  the  most  solemn  subjects  and  occupations. 

"  I  had  the  misfortune  to  be  in  the  States  when  the 
Fugitive  Slave  Law  was  passed,  and  to  mourn  that 


LETTERS  FROM   THOSE  WHO   KNEW  HIM.       413 


Last  interview. 
Slavery.  ^ . — 

Thanksgiving  sermons  said  nothing  in  defense  of  the 
slave.     We  discussed  this  painful  subject,  and  Dr. 
Murray  persuaded  me,  as  he  had  persuaded  himself, 
that  slavery  would  cease.     He  pointed  to  four  border 
states,  and  said  in  ten  years  there  will  not  be  a  slave 
there.     Alas  I  ten  years  have  passed,  and  they  are  m 
all  the  woe,  and  crime,  and  bondage  still.     If  he  and 
all  his  brethren  had  opened  their  mouths  for  the  dumb, 
and  shown  how  ill  it  becomes  the  man  who  is  called 
on  to  love  his  brother  as  himself  to  presume  to  be  the 
owner  of  human  flesh,  these  four  and  other  states 
might  ere  now  have  shaken  off  the  shackles,  which  are 
more  degrading  to  the  usurper  than  to  the  bondman. 
»  When  Dr.  Murray  was  in  Edinburgh  in  1860,  we 
once  more  seriously  discussed  this  painful  subject. 
He  said,  with  tears  in  his  sincere  eyes,  '  I  have  not 
prayed  more  earnestly  for  my  own  soul,  nor  for  my 
wife  and  children,  nor  for  my  flock,  than  I  have  pray- 
ed to  be  shown  my  duty  on  this  subject,  and  also  to 
be  shown  what  to  do  with  the  colored  race  if  they 
were  free  to-morrow.'     And  then  he  told  of  his  dear 
wife  and  his  departed  daughter's  exertions  to  raise  the 
tone  of  the  colored  people  in  their  own  city.     In  my 
heart  I  believed  him  in  earnest ;  but  still,  he  and  his 
fellow-laborers  have  made  a  convention  to  let  the  slave 
suffer  and  the  owner  sin,  and  to  be  silent. 

"I  can  not  but  mention  this  conversation,  which 
made  me  part  with  my  honored  friend  with  a  heavy 
heart. 

"Let  me  rather  turn  to  our  last  interview.  Dr. 
Murray  was  hurried  away,  and  drove  down  to  take 


414      LETTERS   FROM  THOSE  WHO   KNEW  HIM. 
Edinburgh.  Mourning. 

leave  early  in  the  morning,  when  assembled  round  the 
breakfast-table  were  about  a  dozen  of  my  children 
and  children's  children,  who  had  come  to  Edinburgh 
for  the  Greneral  Assembly.  Hurried  though  he  was, 
he  did  not  fail  to  inquire  about  them  and  their  pur- 
suits, and  which  were  Mary  Lundie's  children  in  par- 
ticular. With  a  benignant  smile  he  blessed  us  all, 
and  hurried  into  the  hall  to  conceal  emotion ;  but  he 
returned  with  a  modest  blush,  having  found  in  his 
hat  a  print  of  himself.  Extending  it  to  me,  he  said, 
'My  wife  bid  me  give  you  that,'  and  then  hastened 
away.  The  print  was  soon  suspended  in  a  frame  over 
the  dining-room  chimney ;  and  often,  as  I  have  look- 
ed on  it,  I  have  remembered  the  look,  as  if  he  was 
ashamed  to  be  jDrized,  when  he  presented  it  to  me. 
And  now,  till  through  grace  we  meet  in  the  better 
land,  the  picture  is  all  I  have  to  look  upon.  But  there 
are  many  who  will  honor  his  memory,  and  feed  on  his 
words,  and  press  after  him,  I  trust,  to  the  presence  of 
Jesus.  Doubtless  the  city  misses  him  as  well  as  the 
Church,  for,  apart  from  his  religious  influence,  he  en- 
tered into  every  plan  for  the  promotion  of  nil  that 
could  advance  the  interest  of  the  town  with  all  his 
large-hearted  energy. 

"  Ah  !  how  mournful  is  that  sentence  of  death  that 
must  pass  upon  all  men,  on  the  public-spirited,  the  en- 
ergetic, the  loving,  and  the  beloved!  My  beloved 
mourner,  my  heart  mourns  on  every  remembrance  of 
you ;  yet  I  know  you  will  not  be  forsaken,  and  I  pray 
that  your  children  may  rise  up  to  call  their  dear  moth- 
er blessed.  Believe  me,  as  ever,  your  deeply  sympa- 
thizing and  loving  friend,  M.  G.  L.  Duncan." 


LETTERS  FROM  THOSE  WHO   KNEW   HIM.       415 
Mrs.  Jonea.  Recollections. 

From  Mrs.  Jones. 

"Philadelphia,  August  19th,  1861. 

"  My  dear  Friend, — I  have  been  thinking  of  your 
departed  husband,  and  of  the  memoir  in  course  of 
preparation,  and  I  have  been  wishing  that  I  could 
clothe  the  impressions  his  character  has  made  upon 
my  mind  in  fitting  garb  for  introduction  into  the  vol- 
ume. 

"  My  recollections  of  Dr.  Murray  go  back  more  than 
thirty  years.  In  my  mind  he  is  identified  with  the 
Sabbath-school,  the  Tract  Society,  and  special  person- 
al efibrt  for  the  conversion  of  a  soul.  I  remember  his 
appearance,  in  company  with  another  servant  of  the 
Lord,  also  gone  up  to  his  reward,  at  the  Sabbath-school 
which  it  was  my  privilege  to  superintend,  at  the  cor- 
ner of  Arch  and  Third  Streets,  in  the  year  1828 ;  his 
cheering  smile  and  his  encouraging  manner  are  still 
present  with  me,  and  I  remember  his  labors  in  the 
Tract  cause,  how  indefatigable  his  efforts,  how  system- 
atic in  the  performance  of  his  duties ;  and  I  remem- 
ber, too,  how  this  department  of  Christian  labor  in  this 
city  prospered  in  his  hands.  I  call  to  mind,  with 
pleasure,  his  visit  to  me  to  enlist  my  sympathies  in 
the  cause,  and  now,  in  the  life-long  friend  and  strong 
champion  of  that  blessed  institution,  I  recognize  the 
youthful  stranger  who  in  that  visit  opened  up  to  me, 
with  so  much  earnestness  and  engagedness,  its  import- 
ance, and  so  kindly  invited  my  co-operation.  I  re- 
member his  deep  interest  in  the  salvation  of  the  soul, 
as  in  a  casual  meeting  on  board  of  a  steam-boat  he 
commended  to  my  notice  and  care  the  case  of  a  young 


416       LETTERS  FROM  THOSE  WHO   KNEW   HIM. 

Consolation.  Wilkesbaire. 

person  just  beginning  to  be  interested  in  the  great 
subject  of  religion.  As  my  mind  goes  back  to  these 
delightful  days  of  my  own  early  consecration  to  my 
Redeemer,  and  recalls  the  companioiwhip  and  the  joys 
of  those  seasons  of  Christian  fellowship  and  active 
duty,  when  you  and  I,  my  friend,  walked  hand  in 
hand  and  heart  to  heart,  and  contrasts  them  with  these 
days  of  buried  treasures  and  widowed  households,  I 
should  faint  by  the  way  were  it  not  for  the  sure  words 
of  prophecy.  That  is  a  beautiful  scripture, '  Thy  dead 
men  shall  live;  even  with  my  body  shall  they  rise. 
Awake  and  sing,  ye  that  dwell  in  dust ;  for  thy  dew 
is  as  the  dew  of  herbs,  and  the  earth  shall  cast  out  her 
dead'  (Isa.,  xvi.,  19). 

"  In  the  autumn  of  1831  it  was  my  privilege  to  en- 
joy the  society  of  Dr.  Murray  under  his  own  hospita- 
ble roof  for  the  first  time.  As  pastor  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  at  Wilkesbarre,  where  he  then  resided, 
he  exerted  a  very  decided  and  powerful  influence  for 
good.  If  ever  a  people  were  divinely  directed  in  the 
selection  of  an  under-shepherd,  it  was  that  people. 
The  state  of  the  parish  at  that  time  was  such  as  to  re- 
quire just  such  unflinching  firmness,  such  energy,  such 
engagedness  in  his  Master's  cause,  and  such  a  fearless 
spirit  as  characterized  Dr.  Murray.  His  influence  was 
not  confined  to  his  Church  nor  to  the  town ;  the  coun- 
try for  miles  round  felt  that  a  man  of  God,  valiant  for 
the  truth  and  fearless  for  right,  had  come  among  them. 
Many  souls  were  given  to  him  during  his  ministry 
there,  some  of  whom  have,  no  doubt,  welcomed  him 
to  a  participation  in  their  joys.     I  think  the  article 


LETTEKS  FROM  THOSE  WHO   KNEW   HIil.       417 

"  Beasts  of  Ephcsus."  Hospitality. 

'Beasts  of  Ephesus,'  in  his  work  entitled ' Parish.  Pen- 
cilings,'  most  clearly  delineates  his  character  as  an  en- 
ergetic and  fearless  minister  of  the  Gospel.  With  these 
traits  he  combined  great  tenderness  of  heart,  devoted 
attachment  to  his  people,  a  deep  personal  interest  in 
their  welfare,  temporal  as  well  as  spiritual.  He  seem- 
ed to  be  almost  as  well  acquainted  with  the  different 
members  of  the  families  of  his  flock  as  with  the  mem- 
bers of  his  own  family.  In  the  intimacy  of  my  ac- 
quaintance with  him,  and  in  my  yearly  visits  to  your 
happy  household,  I  have  been  particularly  struck  with 
his  heart-devotion  to  his  people.  Oh,  how  they  ought 
to  love  his  memory,  and  all  he  has  left,  for  his  sake ! 
When  a  little  recreation  at  a  distance  had  been  plan- 
ned, and  a  member  was  sick,  how  he  would  hesitate 
and  dislike  to  go,  lest  the  sick  one  would  miss  his  vis- 
its and  comforting  words ;  and  what  messages  he  would 
leave,  and  directions  to  be  sent  for,  if  needed,  when  he 
decided  to  go,  and  how  he  loved  the  young  of  the 
flock,  and  delighted  in  them!  He  seemed  to  me  al- 
ways to  have  time  for  every  one  and  every  thing,  and 
never  to  be  in  a  hurry. 

"  The  stranger  ever  found  a  welcome  at  his  board ; 
his  hospitality  knew  no  bounds,  and  his  table  was  ever 
the  seat  of  intelligence,  wit,  and  humor,  tempered  with 
the  religious.  In  his  gayest  and  most  cheerful  moods, 
if  you  but  touched  the  spring,  you  would  discover  at 
once  the  rock  upon  which  he  rested,  and  the  fountain 
from  which  he  drew.  He  was  the  life  of  every  circle 
in  which  he  moved,  and  seemed  to  carry  away  with 
him  the  most  vivid  impressions  of  all  that  was  pass- 

S2 


418       LETTERS  FROM  THOSE  WHO   KNEW   HIM. 


AVith  the  young. 


ing.  His  very  graphic  descriptions  of  persons  and 
scenes  given  to  the  press  have  charmed  many  of  his 
friends  who  never  suspected  the  author.  Among 
these  I  recall  his  article  on  the  General  Assembly 
convened  in  this  city  in  the  year  1853,  and  moderated 
by  Dr.  John  Young. 

"  As  a  servant  of  the  Church,  every  one  knew 
where  to  find  him ;  always  decided,  never  vacillating, 
and  more  than  once,  to  my  knowledge,  when  a  mas- 
ter-spirit was  needed,  when  difficulties  had  sprung  up, 
he  was  sent  for,  to  leave  his  home  and  take  part  in 
the  deliberations  of  the  boards  of  the  Church.  He 
loved  peace,  but  he  must  have  it  based  upon  purity ; 
first  pure,  otherwise  he  was  a  man  of  war.  One 
weapon  which  he  wielded  very  successfully  in  debate 
was  ridicule.  This  is  very  apparent  in  his  letters  to 
Bishop  Hughes.  He  could  deride,  satirize,  treat  with 
contemptuous  merriment,  disapprove  or  condemn  the 
opinions  or  course  of  an  individual,  without  afiecting 
his  feelings  in  the  smallest  degree  toward  him  as  a 
man. 

"  In  all  the  walks  of  life,  his  genial  nature  flowed 
out  in  acts  of  kindness  to  his  fellow-creatures.  The 
lisping  infant  hailed  him  as  the  companion  of  his 
childish  sports.  How  often  have  I  seen  him  playing 
ball  with  my  boy  of  three  years  old,  laughing  and 
shouting  as  loud  as  he ;  and  the  youth  just  merging 
into  manhood  found  himself  drawn  toward  him  by 
the  same  genial  spirit  that  in  playful  anecdote  gave 
many  a  lesson  of  instruction.  So  apparent  was  this 
kindness  of  his  nature  as  to  attract  even  a  passing 


LETTERS   FROM  THOSE  WHO   KNEW  HIM.       419 
Quaker  lady.  The  maniac 

stranger.  You  may  not  remember  the  circumstance 
of  the  old  Quaker  lady,  who  walked  up  and  down 
the  boat,  fixing  her  inquiring  eye  on  the  passengers, 
until  she  stopped  in  front  of  Dr.  Murray.  '  I  have 
been  looking  for  some  one,'  said  she,  '  that  I  thought 
would  do  me  a  favor,  and  I  have  fixed  upon  thee :  I 
have  a  very  sick  and  helpless  daughter  on  board ;  we 
shall  soon  arrive  at  the  landing,  and  I  have  no  one 
to  assist  me  in  getting  her  to  the  coach :  wilt  thou 
help  me?'  'Certainly,'  was  the  reply;  and  when  they 
arrived,  the  coaches  were  immediately  filled  by  those 
unwilling  to  be  disturbed,  and  the  poor  mother  and 
her  suffering  daughter  were  unprovided  for.  Dr.  Mur- 
ray stepped  to  the  coach  door,  and  with  his  strong 
manly  voice  cried  out, '  If  there's  a  gentleman  here, 
he'll  give  up  his  seat  to  this  mother  and  her  sick 
daughter.'     It  was  all  that  was  necessar3^ 

"  Even  the  poor  maniac  felt  the  influence  of  his 
genial  nature.  In  one  of  his  frequent  trips  to  Phila- 
delphia, he  met  a  frantic  woman  in  the  cars,  whose 
friends  were  taking  her  to  the  Asylum  for  the  Insane. 
She  was  perfectly  wild  and  ungovernable.  He  stepped 
up  to  her  friends,  strangers  as  they  were  to  him,  and 
said, '  If  you  will  allow  me,  I  think  I  can  soothe  that 
poor  woman.'  They  consented ;  he  took  his  seat  by 
her,  entered  into  conversation  with  her,  sympathized 
with  her,  saw  the  difficulties  of  the  case,  and  that  her 
aversion  to  her  friends  was  so  great  that  they  would 
not  be  able  to  control  her  but  by  brute  force.  In  a 
short  time  she  became  as  a  lamb  in  his  hands;  he 
stopped  on  his  journey,  and,  with  the  consent  of  her 


420       LETTERS  FROM  THOSE   WHO   KNEW  HIM. 

I'hiladelphia.  Mr.  Keinhart. 

friends,  took  a  carriage,  and  in  person  conveyed  her 
to  the  Asylum  at  Trenton.  Having  performed  this 
act  of  the  good  Samaritan  he  came  to  his  Philadel- 
phia home,  where  he  was  ever  a  welcome  inmate.  I 
have  lost  a  friend  in  Dr.  Murray  whose  services  I 
could  command  with  as  much  freedom  as  if  he  were 
my  brother,  and  whose  presence  was  always  a  beam 
of  sunshine  in  the  family  circle.  But  what  is  my 
loss,  or  the  loss  to  the  Church,  to  the  world,  or  to  all 
earthly  friends,  compared  with  the  loss  to  his  family  ? 
What  he  was  there  none  can  tell  as  well  as  the  be- 
reaved household.  But  God  has  taken  him,  and  He 
has  not  left  them  comfortless. 

"In  compliance  with  your  request,  my  beloved 
friend,  I  have  gathered  up  some  of  my  recollections 
of  the  departed.  I  am  thankful  that  it  was  my  priv- 
ilege to  enjoy  so  much  of  his  society,  and  to  share  so 
largely  in  his  confidence  and  regards.  Death  only 
inierru2:)is  these  earthly  friendships.  Thanks  unto 
God  for  the  believer's  hope. 

"  Your  loving  friend,  Eliza." 

From  the  Bev.  Mr.  Beinhart 

"  Elizabethport,  March  31. 

"  S.  I.  Prime,  D.D.  : 
"  Dear  Sir, — I  noticed  your  purpose  to  publish  a 
memoir  of  our  dear  and  respected  friend.  Dr.  Murray, 
I  do  not  know  that  you  will  descend  to  matters  so 
small,  but  as  revelations  of  the  kindness  and  sympa- 
thy of  his  heart,  in  individual  cases,  I  send  you  two 
extracts  from  his  letters.     The  first  is  dated  1844,  in 


LETTERS   FROM  THOSE   WHO   KNEW   HIM,       421 
Letters.  A  bereaved  mother. 

the  early  part  of  my  ministry.  As  he  was  the  instru- 
ment of  introducing  me  into  both,  the  Church  and  the 
ministry,  he  took  the  liberty  of  giving  me  this  good 
advice : 

'"I  hope,  my  dear  friend,  that  you  are  laying 
yourself  out  to  be  useful.  You  have  the  qualities 
and  talents,  if  you  only  improve  them,  to  the  full. 
Close  study  never  omit.  Eenew  it  day  by  day,  so 
that  your  profiting  may  appear  unto  all.  Do  not 
think  of  feeding  your  people  with  whipped  sillabub. 
There  are  many  who  consider  themselves  Samsons  in 
the  ministry,  who,  if  they  slay  any,  do  it  with  the  jaw 
of  an  ass.  Beware  of  thinking  that  doctrine  or  ortho- 
doxy is  the  great  thing.  Mix  the  milk  with  the  meat 
of  the  TVord.  Do  not  think  all  is  done  when  you 
teach  your  people  to  talk  well.  Kcmember  Mr.  Talk- 
ative, who  lived  in  Prating  Row,  Do  not  fear  excite- 
ments produced  by  the  truth,  Eemember  your  Great 
Master  and  His  apostles  produced  excitements.  They 
cried  out  that  heard  them,  "What  must  I  do  to  be 
saved?"  But  all  this  you  will  consider  packing  need- 
ed to  fill  up  a  letter,  and  sending  a  sermon  in  enve- 
lope,' etc. 

"  The  second  extract  is  from  a  note  to  a  lady  be- 
reaved of  her  mother,  and  dated  Dec.  24th,  1860: 

" '  I  assure  you  that  the  contents  of  your  note  were 
unexpected  and  undesired.  I  felt  it  to  be  a  duty  I 
owed  to  the  memories  of  the  dead  to  attend  your 
sainted  mother's  funeral.  It  was  reward  enough  to 
me  to  gratify  your  desire,  and  to  know  that  you  ivere 
gratified  rewarded  me  a  thousand  fold.     Your  dear 


422       LETTERS   FROM  THOSE  WHO   KNEW   HIM. 

Dr.  Chickering.  Switzerland. 

mother  has  left  you  a  noble  legacy  in  lier  character 
and  in  her  recorded  prayers  on  high.  Oh,  may  her 
children  be  all  like  her — may  her  mantle  fall  upon 
you!  The  few  returns,  like  yours,  that  I  have  re- 
ceived for  such  duties,  I  devote  to  the  spread  of  the 
knowledge  of  Him  through  whom  we  hope  for  the 
resurrection  and  the  life.  God  bless  you,  my  friend, 
and  may  you  be  a  follower  of  those  who  through  faith 
and  patience  have  inherited  the  promises !  Sincerely 
your  friend.' 

"My  own  experience  testifies  that,  in  true  Chris- 
tian friendship.  Dr.  Murray  was  a  model  man. 

"  Yours  truly,  E.  H.  Eeinhart." 

From  the  Rev.  Dr.  Chickering. 

"Portland,  April  8th,  1861. 

"Eev.  Dr.  Prime: 

"Dear  Sir  and  Brother, — ^Your  request,  as  to 
the  correspondence  or  reminiscences  of  our  departed 
friend  Dr.  Murray,  has  brought  afresh  to  my  mind 
some  days  of  pleasant  intercourse  with  him  in  Switzer- 
land in  the  summer  of  1851. 

"  We  met  at  Geneva,  where  also,  besides  other  well- 
known  men  from  this  country  and  England,  was  the 
since  departed  and  lamented  Choules,  a  genial  man, 
whom  our  brother  may  already  have  met  in  the  more 
glorious  scenes  and  higher  companionship  of  the  bet- 
ter land. 

"  The  missionary  anniversaries  occurring  during  our 
stay  in  the  old  '  city  of  Calvin,'  Dr.  Murray  was  made 
the  American  spokesman  at  the  soiree,  held  at  some 


LETTERS  FROM  THOSE  WHO   KNEW  HIM.       423 

Address.  (jharaouni. 

public  rooms,  at  which  Count  St.  George  presided  with 
a  grace  that  seemed  to  favor  the  notion  of  native  aris- 
tocracy, at  least  of  manners. 

"  When  our  country's  turn  came  to  be  compliment- 
ed, our  brother  rose  with  his  inimitable  expression  of 
mingl^  dignity  and  archness,  and,  in  a  characteristic- 
ally Irish- American  style,  spoke  through  Dr.  Merle 
D'Aubigne,  I  think,  as  an  interpreter.  He  greatly  in- 
terested, and,  at  times,  amused  the  large  assembly  of 
ladies  and  gentlemen,  who  needed  not  to  wait  for  the 
translation,  or  to  know  our  language,  to  appreciate,  in 
some  measure,  his  genial  manner  and  mirth-provoking 
sallies. 

"They  were  especially  amused  at  the  translation, 
by  means  of  the  word  '  moulin,''  of  his  saying  that  we 
in  this  country  received  thousands  of  popish  immi- 
grants into  our  great  mill,  and  ground  them  out  good 
Protestants. 

"  "We  traveled  together  into  Savoy,  first  stopping 
at  Bonneville,  where  we  dined,  and  saw,  to  his  altern- 
ate amusement  and  indignation,  freely  expressed,  the 
absurd  superstitions  and  rude  military  demonstrations 
connected  with  the  celebration  of  the  Fete  d  Dieu.  Our 
last  stage  to  Chamouni,  by  the  awkward  char-d-hanc^ 
was  shortened  by  his  cheerfulness  and  ready  wit,  while 
he  fully  shared  the  deep  emotion  with  which  we 
caught  the  first  glimpse  of  the  Glacier  de  Boissons  in 
the  dim  evening  light,  like  a  sheeted  ghost  stealing 
down  from  the  dark  forests  above. 

"During  the  days  we  spent  together  in  that  charm- 
ing valley,  and  in  climbing  to  the  difierent  elevations. 


424       LETTERS   FROM  THOSE  WHO   KNEW   HIM. 

Mer  de  Glace.  Dr.  ChUds. 

and  in  visiting  the  Mer  de  Glace,  there  was  much  both 
to  call  forth  his  keen  sense  of  the  ludicrous  and  his 
own  powers  of  wit  and  humor,  which  he  sometimes 
practiced  on  the  unfortunate  traffickers  in  minerals, 
'Echos,'  and  other  means  of  begging,  greatly  to  their 
perplexity  and  good-natured  astonishment,  when,  with- 
out understanding  his  language,  they  slowly  penetrated 
his  meaning. 

"Far  more  characteristic  was  his  deep  enjoyment 
of  the  wonders  of  Nature  and  works  of  Nature's  God, 
of  which  that  locality  seems  to  be  a  grand  central  re- 
pository. 

"When  he  led  our  social  devotions,  thoughts  too 
deep  for  other  utterance  revealed  his  heart  to  ours. 
And  when  that  pleasant  American  party  of  nine  broke 
up  at  the  Hotel  de  Londres,  some  of  us  to  go  up  the 
Rhone  Valley  and  thence  to  Italy,  and  he  to  return  to 
Geneva,  it  was  with  increased  Christian  affection,  and 
in  the  hope,  now  by  him  happily  realized,  of  standing 
on  Mount  Zion  above.     May  we  all  be  together  there ! 

"  As  I  was  his  friend,  so  I  remain  truly  yours, 

"  J.  W.  CniCKERING. 
"Cottage  Manse,  Portland,  Me.,  April  20th,  1861." 

From  the  Rev.  Dr.  Childs. 

"Hartford,  Ct.,  April  19,  18G1. 

"  Rev.  Dr.  Prime  : 

"Dear  Sir, — Dr.  Murray  came  to  Hartford  on  the 

twelfth  of  January  last,  and  was  my  guest  during  his 

visit.     Although  I  had  known  him  well  for  several 

years,  it  was  at  this  time  that  I  became  more  intimate- 


LETTERS  FROM  THOSE   WHO   KNEW  HIM.       425 

Hartford.  Controversy. 

ly  acquainted  with  him  than  ever  before ;  and  if  the 
experience  of  others  is  like  my  own,  it  may  safely  be 
said,  that  the  better  Dr.  Murray  was  known,  the  more 
deeply  was  he  respected  and  loved. 

"  Perhaps  nothing,  as  he  appeared  to  us,  impressed 
me  more  strongly  than  this — the  degree  to  which  his 
unbounded  cheerfulness  was  mingled  with  true  spir- 
ituality. 

"His  interest  in  children  never  seen  before,  and 
never  to  be  seen  again  on  earth,  was  remarkable.  He 
had  hardly  entered  the  house  from  a  bitterly  piercing 
New  England  winter's  atmosphere  before  he  had  them 
on  his  knees,  in  all  the  glee  of  his  and  their  youthful 
sympathies,  '  both  hearing  them  and  asking  them  ques- 
tions ;'  and  from  that  time  forward,  while  he  was 
with  us,  they  may  be  said  to  have  been  his  almost  con- 
stant companions.  To  those  who  knew  Dr.  Murray 
only  as  a  preacher  and  a  controversialist,  this  is  an  in- 
teresting feature  of  his  character.  With  many  oth- 
ers, he  had  been  subject  to  that  judgment  which  has 
been  proved  so  manifestly  unjust  that  it  ought  to  be 
ended,  that  if  a  man  engages  in  controversy  he  must 
of  necessity  be  of  an  unhappy  or  belligerent  temper. 
Dr.  Murray  certainly  was  neither  of  these.  Referring 
to  the  subject  in  one  of  our  conversations,  he  observed 
that  it  seemed  remarkable  to  him  that  he  should  have 
been  engaged  so  much  in  controversy  while  he  had 
so  little  of  the  controversial  spirit  in  him. 

"May  I  venture  the  suggestion  that  he  had,  perhaps, 
the  true  spirit  for  controversy.  That  spirit  is  not  one 
which  seeks  controversy  for  its  own  sake ;  it  may,  in- 


426       LETTERS   FROM  THOSE   WHO   KNEW  HIM. 
Preaching.  Communion. 

deed,  be  very  reluctant  to  it ;  but  when  the  interests 
of  truth  and  rehgion  solemnly  demand  controversy,  it 
does  not  shrink  from  the  issue.  The  very  reluctance, 
in  such  a  case,  forms  one  of  the  elements  of  success. 

"  The  object  of  Dr.  Murray's  visit  was  to  deliver  an 
address  before  the  City  Tract  Society,  in  connection 
with  the  American  Tract  Society,  New  York.  This 
was  a  service  to  which  he  had  been  previously  invited, 
but  which  he  had  not  before  found  it  convenient  to 
undertake. 

"  Sabbath  morning,  January  13th,  he  preached  for 
me  in  the  Presbyterian  Church.  His  theme  was  '  The 
Churchy  a  Family'  (Eph.,  iii.,  15).  The  discourse  pre- 
ceded our  communion  service,  and,  it  is  hardly  neces- 
sary to  say,  was  appropriate  and  profitable. 

"In  the  service  he  repeated,  with  a  pathos  that  has 
often  recurred  to  me  since,  the  beautiful  stanzas  of 
our  hymn : 

"  '  One  family  wc  dwell  in  Him — 
One  Church,  above,  bcneatli ; 
Though  now  divided  by  the  stream — 
The  narrow  stream  of  death. 
'"One  army  of  the  living  God, 
To  His  commands  we  bow : 
Part  of  the  host  have  crossed  the  flood, 
And  part  are  crossing  now.' 

Yet  who  of  us  supposed  that  his  feet  were  even  then 
touching  the  dark  waters — that  our  next  message  from 
him  would  be  that  he  had  'crossed  the  flood,'  and 
joined  those  upon  the  other  shore  ?  It  is  a  touching 
thought  to  us  that  he  should  have  passed  from  our 
communion  to  the  marriage  supper  of  the  Lamb ! 


LETTERS  FROM  THOSE  "WHO   EJS'EW  HIM.       427 
Tract  meeting.  Address. 

"  At  a  reference  to  bis  death  in  our  services  the 
Sabbath  after  that  event,  the  whole  congregation  were 
in  tears.  It  was  a  striking  evidence  of  the  interest 
his  brief  visit  had  awakened. 

"  In  the  afternoon  he  preached,  with  marked  accept- 
ance, at  the  Pearl  Street  Congregational  Church  (Eev. 
E.  R.  Beadle's). 

"  In  the  evening  he  fulfilled  his  engagement  for  the 
Tract  Society.  From  circumstances  which  it  is  not 
necessary  here  to  state,  it  was  a  difficult  and  delicate 
work.  He  felt  the  difficulty,  and  entered  upon  the 
work  with  some  anxiety ;  but  he  was  made  compe- 
tent to  it.  For  an  hour  he  held  the  large  audience 
that  had  gathered  to  hear  him  with  an  address  of 
deep  interest,  of  decided  power,  and  of  complete  suc- 
cess. Whatever  differences  of  judgment  there  may 
have  been  among  his  hearers  as  to  the  object  he  was 
advocating,  there  was  probably  none  as  to  the  success 
of  the  advocate.  It  is  only  repeating  the  frequently 
expressed  sentiment  of  those  who  heard  him,  that  no 
man  ever  succeeded  better  under  similar  circumstan- 
ces, or  made  a  more  favorable  impression  upon  the 
public  mind.  Nor  was  this  by  a  cautious  withhold- 
ing of  his  own  views.  He  avowed  them  openly.  In 
a  manner  that  rather  strengthened  than  weakened  his 
hold  upon  the  sympathies  of  his  audience,  he  declared 
his  own  religious  faith  and  his  denominational  prefer- 
ences. He  bore  his  testimony  to  what  he  believed  to 
be  the  truth  and  the  order  of  the  Gospel,  and  he  lost 
nothing  of  respect  or  of  success  by  his  testimony. 

"  This,  I  believe,  was  Dr.  Murray's  last  service  for 


428       LETTERS  FROM  THOSE  WHO   KNEW   HIM. 

Dr.  Janeway.  At  the  Seminary. 

bis  Master  abroad.  Tbree  weeks  from  tbe  day  be  left 
us  be  fell  asleep.  I  can  add  notbing  to  bis  eulogy. 
His  record  is  on  bigb. 

"  Yours  fraternally,  T.  S.  Childs." 

From  the  Bev.  Dr.  Janeway. 

"  My  very  dear  Friend, — I  first  saw  Dr.  Murray 
at  tbe  Society  of  Inquiry,  in  tbe  Tbeological  Semina- 
ry at  Princeton,  in  tbe  autumn  of  1826,  and  was  arrest- 
ed by  an  impressive  speecb  in  bebalf  of  bis  country- 
men, tbe  Roman  Catbolics  of  Ireland,  earnestly  urging 
some  measures  for  tbeir  relief.  Circumstances  con- 
nected witb  tbese  projcted  missions  drew  us  togetb- 
er,  and  laid  tbe  foundation  of  a  cberisbed  friendsbip 
wbicb  only  deatb  could  interrupt.  Mucb  togetber  at 
Princeton,  and  in  constant  correspondence  wben  sepa- 
rated, tbis  friendsbip  ripened  and  became  more  mel- 
low. We  were  ordained  at  tbe  same  time,  in  tbe 
bounds  of  tbe  same  Synod,  tbougb  in  different  states. 
We  commenced  our  young  ministries  witb  similar 
views  and  aspirations ;  a  few  years  later  made  us,  in 
God's  providence,  near  neigbbors,  our  congregations 
toucbing  on  tbe  borders,  and  calling  for  frequent  min- 
isterial communion  in  our  several  and  contiguous 
ncigbborboods.  Personal  intercourse  increased  and 
became  more  pleasant,  and  in  tbe  great  ecclesiastical 
troubles  wbicb  soon  tbickened  upon  us  we  moved  to- 
getber, for  we  tbougbt  alike  and  felt  alike.  Wbile  a 
member  of  tbe  Seminary,  Dr.  Murray  maintained,  de- 
servedly, a  bigb  standing  for  breadtb  of  view  and 
known    energy   of  cbaractcr.     His   associates   were 


LETTEKS  FROM  THOSE   WHO   KNEW   HIM.       429 
Philadelphia.  Wilkesbarre. 

among  the  foremost  and  the  more  earnest,  many  of 
whom  remain  to  this  clay,  but  some  are  fallen  asleep. 
His  course  was  interrupted,  and  for.  reasons  not  al- 
together known  to  me ;  he  spent  part  of  the  time  in 
charge  of  the  Pennsylvania  branch  of  the  American 
Tract  Society  at  Philadelphia.  His  business  habits, 
his  tact,  his  great  energy,  soon  gained  him  reputation, 
and  several  of  the  Church  boards  would  gladly  have 
secured  his  services  in  their  offices.  I  believe  the 
Board  of  Education  did  choose  him  as  associate  secre- 
tary. While  in  this  city  he  secured,  by  his  affection- 
ate treatment  and  genial  manners,  the  love  and  regard 
of  my  sainted  and  venerated  father,  who  all  his  life 
long  regarded  his  young  friend  with  the  utmost  con- 
fidence and  greatest  esteem.  To  my  father's  house 
he  was  then  and  ever  a  welcome  and  frequent  visitor ; 
all  the  family  loved  him,  and  those  who  survive  cher- 
ish his  memory  and  mourn  his  departure.  Dr.  Mur- 
ray reciprocated  these  feelings,  and  bore  ever  and  al- 
ways the  highest  testimony  to  the  worth  and  charac- 
ter of  his  venerable  friend. 

"  His  settlement  at  Wilkesbarre  was  an  era  in  the 
history  of  that  Church  and  region.  A  new  influence 
went  forth,  and  Wyoming  felt  his  hand  in  the  new 
and  vigorous  measures  for  the  spread  of  Gospel  truth. 
What  the  Church  at  Elizabeth  continued  and  became 
under  his  earnest  and  successful  ministry,  the  Church 
knows  by  heart;  I  need  not  repeat  the  story.  Simon- 
umenium  ejus  queens,  circumspice.  Among  all  church- 
es outside  of  the  cities,  it  stood  in  marked  and  com- 
manding eminence.     So  far  from  losing  the  character 


430       LETTERS  FROM  THOSE  WHO   KNEW  HIM. 


Di--iiiption. 


it  had  attained  in  the  eminent  pastorates  it  had  en- 
joyed, it  increased  under  his  earnest  and  energetic  la- 
bors. The  troubles  which  culminated  in  the  disrup- 
tion of  the  Presbyterian  Church  occurred  during  his 
pastorate  in  Elizabeth.  In  their  whole  course  I  knew 
his  inmost  heart.  It  is  doubtful  if  any  other  minis- 
ter so  intimately  understood  his  views  and  feelings. 
From  conscience  and  conviction  he  had  taken  the  side 
of  the  Old  School,  and  he  never  faltered ;  and  though 
his  warm  Irish  heart  might  have  been  expected  to  im- 
pel him,  in  the  stormy  debates  in  which  he  mingled, 
beyond  the  rule  and  line  of  Christian  propriety,  I  nev- 
er remember  an  instance  where  decorum  was  violated, 
and  any  arrogant  disregard  of  the  feelings  of  those 
who  sympathized  in  the  views  of  the  opposing  side. 
He  was  too  honest,  too  open  to  fail  in  fullest  expres- 
sion of  his  views ;  and  though  he  regretted  to  part 
with  men  whose  Christian  character  he  respected,  he 
felt  that  all  propriety  required  a  separation,  as  a  peace 
measure,  from  men  whose  views  were  so  divergent. 
Through  these  storms  he  saw  our  Church  escape  and 
pass  into  untroubled  waters.  To  the  belief  of  the 
Church's  duty,  in  her  ecclesiastical  capacity,  to  con- 
duct all  missions — train  her  young  men  for  the  minis- 
try of  the  Word,  he  was  a  full  and  earnest  convert ; 
and  yet  the  Bible  and  the  Tract  Society  numbered 
him  among  their  abler  advocates  to  the  close  of  his 
life ;  and  so  he  was.  A  warm  and  true  Presbyterian 
of  the  straitest  kind,  his  heart  was  catholic,  and,  on 
the  platform  of  a  common  faith  he  gladly  stood  with 
brethren  of  other  denominations.     In  all  this  was  he 


LETTERS  FROM  THOSE  WHO   KNEW   HIM.       431 


A  Presbyterian. 


The  Churcb. 


consistent;  he  never  gave  up  to  party  what  was  meant 
for  mankind.  Narrow  hearts  and  bigoted  views  can 
not  comprehend  the  Sbexistence  of  true  denomina- 
tional zeal  with  a  charity  which  could  stretch  its  gir- 
dle around  a  world.  To  the  Church  of  his  adoption 
he  was  a  loving  and  true  child.  From  his  extended 
pastoral  labors,  and  few  men  have  more,  he  redeemed 
time  to  give  a  frequent  attendance  on  the  meetings  of 
the  different  boards,  and  was  always  heard  with  re- 
spect, and  his  expressed  views  frequently  shaped  the 
course  of  action.  His  known  honesty  of  purpose— 
his  utter  freedom  from  indirection— his  acknowledged 
love  for  truth,  gave  him  a  sway  to  which  few  men 

attain. 

"A  warmer  friend  to  the  Church  and  her  institu- 
tions there  could  not  be,  and  his  Church  honored  him 
by  placing  him  over  most  of  these,  and  continuing 
him  to  the  end  of  his  life.     Over  our  success  he  re- 
joiced with  exceeding  joy,  like  the  joy  of  harvest. 
His  ardent  and  comprehending  mind  marked  out  a 
wider  field  of  effort  and  more  expanded  movements. 
Familiar,  by  reading   and  reflection,  with  the  vast 
wastes  of  our  land,  he  was  deeply  desirous  that  our 
Home  Missions  should  keep  abreast  of  the  swelling 
wants  of  our  great  country.     He  counseled  and  urged 
enlargement  and  expansion  when  it  could  be  safely 
done.     His  heart  was  wide,  and  took  in  a  continent 
and  a  world.     Other  and  abler  pens  will  reveal  these 
features  of  his  character ;  mine  are  the  personal  remi- 
niscences, the  retired  creed  of  his  heart,  as  they  came 
out  in  the  familiar  and  unrestrained  intercourse  of  our 


432       LETTERS  FROM  THOSE  WHO   KNEW   HIM. 
Character.  Interviews. 

Christian  friendship.  His  general  character,  the  mass- 
ive and  the  genial,  will  doubtless  find  other  limners ; 
mine  is  an  humbler  duty,  paM  at  the  demand  of  his 
family,  and  which  I  could  not  refuse ;  the  simple  ef- 
fusion of  heart,  a  slight,  and,  I  know,  inadequate  trib- 
ute to  his  precious  memory.  His  death,  in  the  full 
prime  of  an  unwasted  manhood,  came  to  me  with 
heavy  and  unexpected  force.  Few  men  could  be  more 
missed  and  less  spared.  His  enlarging  experience,  his 
wide  acquaintance  with  men  on  both  sides  of  the  At- 
lantic, his  extended  correspondence,  his  views  quick- 
ened and  chastened  by  this  intercourse  with  evil  and 
good  men,  all  seemed  to  promise  greater  usefulness 
and  richer  results.  God  willed  otherwise :  His  will  be 
done ;  he  is  not,  for  God  hath  taken  him.  I  knew  not 
that  my  friend  was  sick  until  I  heard  that  death  had 
put  his  seal  upon  him.  The  very  week  he  died  I  had 
planned,  at  his  request,  to  meet  him  at  his  hospitable 
home,  in  consultation  on  important  matters  likely  to 
occupy  the  hearts  of  those  who  thought  alike  on  the 
interests  somewhat  complicating  the  institutions  of 
the  Church  so  dear  to  both  of  us.  We  had  often  had 
these  familiar  and  friendly  interviews,  and  in  perfect 
and  unrestrained  confidence  we  were  wont  to  discuss 
and  agree  on  plans  to  be  submitted ;  but  the  grave 
closed  on  them  all,  and  I  went  to  bury  my  friend  and 
mingle  amid  the  tears  of  the  vast  assembly  who  gath- 
ered around  his  coffin.  That  his  end  was  peace  I  was 
well  prepared  to  hear. 

"  In  a  visit  of  a  night  I  paid  him  after  his  return 
from  Europe,  I  was  impressed  with  his  increased  spir- 


LETTERS  FROM  THOSE  WHO   KNEW   HIM.       433 
Spirituality.  Dr.  Schenck. 

ituality.  I  was  struck  with  the  soberness  of  his  con- 
versation, and  the  growing  fervor  of  his  personal  re- 
ligion. He  was,  as  ever,  cheerful ;  his  genial  wit  spark- 
led as  before,  but  it  was  held  in  check.  It  was  mani- 
fest he  had  grown  in  grace,  and  his  European  tour 
and  the  marvels  of  Divine  Love  which  he  witnessed 
in  the  revivals  abroad  had  been  greatly  sanctified.  I 
now  see  God  was  preparing  his  servant  for  his  great 
reward.  I  must  cease.  I  have  uttered  too  much,  per- 
haps, my  personal  feelings ;  if  so,  it  was  at  the  com- 
mand of  one  who  survives,  and  whose  wishes  I  shall 
ever  find  pleasure,  for  his  sake  also,  in  consulting.  I 
know  other  hands  will  rear  more  fitting  memorials  of 
my  friend.  The  kind  partiality  of  his  surviving  fam- 
ily requested  this  tribute  of  a  long  friendship,  inter- 
rupted by  the  grave,  to  be  renewed,  I  trust,  in  Heaven. 
"  Yours,  in  Christian  friendship, 

"  Thomas  L.  Jane  way. 

•'  Mission  Rooms,  Philadelphia,  February,  1862." 

From  the  Rev.  Dr.  Schenck. 
"  My  first  recollection  of  Dr.  Murray  is  of  hearing 
him  preach,  in  the  year  1836,  in  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Princeton,  of  which  the  Rev.  Benjamin  H. 
Rice,  D.D.,  was  at  that  time  the  pastor.  I  was  then  a 
mere  boy,  a  member  of  the  Sophomore  Class  in  the 
college ;  but  I  remember  the  whole  scene,  the  sermon, 
and  the  preacher's  appearance  as  if  it  were  yesterday. 
Dr.  Murray  was  then,  in  his  matured,  but  his  early  and 
vigorous  manhood.  There  was  not  yet  a  gray  hair 
upon  his  head  or  a  furrow  upon  his  brow.     His  form 

T 


434      LETTERS  FROM  THOSE  WHO   KNEW  HIM. 
Sermon.  Effect. 

was  robust,  but  not  so  full  as  in  later  years.  His  spark- 
ling eye,  and  his  vivacious  and  energetic  delivery,  at 
once  fixed  my  attention.  His  text  was,  Lamentations, 
iii.,  27:  *  It  is  good  for  a  man  that  he  bear  the  yoke  in 
his  youth.'  Peculiar  circumstances  of  difficulty  and 
trial  through  which  I  had  recently  been  passing  caused 
my  attention  to  be  riveted  to  the  discourse,  although 
I  had  at  that  time  few  and  superficial  thoughts  npon 
eternal  things.  I  well  remember  now  how  earnestly 
he  expatiated  upon  his  theme,  and  exhibited  the  bene- 
fits the  young  man  might  derive  from  an  early  train- 
ing of  trial.  I  then  knew  nothing  of  Dr.  Murray's 
previous  history,  but  I  felt  that  he  was  sj)eaking  from 
his  own  experience  and  consciousness.  I  never  lost 
my  sjDecial  interest  in  Dr.  Murray  from  that  hour. 
Although  years  passed  before  we  became  acquainted, 
I  always  felt  drawn  toward  him  by  some  secret  sym- 
pathetic attraction.  Nor  was  his  sermon  ever  forgot- 
ten. In  after  years  its  cheering  truths  often  rose  be- 
fore my  mind,  and  encouraged  me  in  many  an  hour 
of  struggle  when  tempted  to  despond.  I  have  always 
felt  that  it  had  been  to  me  a  source  of  unspeakable 
benefit.  Not  more  than  a  year  before  his  death,  when 
chatting  freely  with  Dr.  Murray  in  his  study,  I  men- 
tioned these  facts.  He  seemed  deeply  affected.  Tears 
rose  to  his  eyes,  and  he  exclaimed,  with  emotion,  'JVfy 
dear  brother,  how  much  more  faith  we  ought  always 
to  have  when  we  preach.  I  am  meeting  such  inci- 
dents every  now  and  then  along  my  way  in  the  min- 
istry. Wc  preach,  and  then  forget  what  we  have  done, 
and  often  think  wc  have  done  no  good  at  all.     I  am 


LETTERS   FROM  THOSE   WHO   KNETT   JIUL       435 
Seminaiy.  Character. 

more  and  more  convinced  that  a  minister  never  preach- 
es a  sermon  after  true  prayer  to  God,  and  in  humble 
dependence  on  God's  Spirit,  without  that  sermon  do- 
ing good  somewhere  and  somehow.  What  a  pure  and 
constant  source  of  delight  will  it  be  in  Ilcaven  to  every 
true  minister  of  the  Gospel  to  have  the  long-hidden 
results  of  his  preaching  revealed  to  him,  to  follow  his 
sermons  one  by  one,  and  every  one,  as  he  sees  them 
accomplishing  the  infinitely  good  and  wise  purposes 
of  God!' 

"I  became  acquainted  with  Dr.  Murray  while  I 
was  a  student  in  the  Theological  Seminary.  Toward 
young  men  his  manner  was  always  unreserved,  ge- 
nial, captivating.  He  was  never  stiff,  patronizing, 
condescending  in  his  intercourse  with  them.  Hence, 
in  fact,  he  was  always  beloved  and  confided  in  by 
young  men.  For  myself,  I  felt  from  my  first  talk 
with  him  that  he  was  my  friend.  And  so  he  was. 
All  our  intercourse  in  after  years  only  helped  to  ripen 
that  friendship,  and  assured  me  of  its  entire  reliabili- 
ty. The  same  frank,  genial,  affectionate  manner  every 
year  attached  to  him  a  new  circle  of  younger  friends. 

"During  the  last  eighteen  years  I  have  seen  Dr. 
Murray  often,  and  in  every  variety  of  circumstances, 
and  in  his  study,  in  his  family,  in  the  house  of  his 
parishioner,  in  the  Synod  and  General  Assembly,  in 
the  pulpit,  every  where,  he  was  the  same.  There 
were  no  two  sides  to  his  character.  It  was  not  a 
faultless  character,  but  it  was  admirable,  and  it  was 
every  where  consistent,  impressive,  and  Christian. 
Those  who  were  favored  with  unrestrained  social  con- 


436       LETTERS   FROM   THOSE   WHO    KNEW   HIM, 

His  study.  La-'t  Sabbath. 

versations  with  Dr.  Murray  in  bis  study  will  never 
cease  to  count  such  opportunities  as  memorable  priv- 
ileges. AVhat  rare  and  genuine  humor  curled  his  lip 
and  sparkled  in  his  eye,  accompanying  some  witty 
utterance;  and  anon  how  sweet  and  tender  were  his 
manner  and  his  tone,  as  some  elevated  and  pious  sen- 
timent fell  from  his  lips !  For  each  of  the  last  eight 
years  I  had  the  privilege  of  spending  a  Sabbath  with 
him  at  Elizabethtown,  usually  in  the  month  of  Feb- 
ruary, and  I  look  back  upon  those  days  as  days  to 
be  specially  marked  with  a  white  stone — days  rich  in 
enjoyment,  and  precious  in  the  remembrance. 

"  Others  will  draw  the  mental,  religious,  and  minis- 
terial portrait  of  Dr.  Murray.  It  is  not  my  purpose 
to  attempt  any  such  delineation. 

"  It  was  my  melancholy  privilege  to  spend  in  his 
house  the  last  Sabbath  of  his  life,  February  3d,  1861. 
It  had  been  understood  between  us  that  he  was  to 
spend  that  Sabbath  with  his  beloved  friend,  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Sprague,  at  Albany.  On  arriving  at  Elizabeth- 
town  on  Saturday  I  learned  that,  after  having  made 
all  his  preparations  to  go,  he  had  only  that  morning 
felt  compelled  to  abandon  his  intention  through  indis- 
position. Still,  he  conversed  cheerfully,  and  late  in 
the  evening  expressed  the  hope  that  he  would  be  well 
enough  to  attend  at  church  next  day  and  hear  mc 
preach.  That  hope  was  not  realized.  On  the  next 
day  he  was  worse,  having  occasional  spells  of  violent 
pain  about  his  chest.  In  the  intervals  of  service  on 
that  Lord's  day  I  was  much  with  him  in  his  room. 
He  conversed  cheerfully  between  the  times  of  pain. 


LETTERS  FROM  THOSE   WHO   KNEW   HIil.       437 
Illness.  Bereavements. 

Twice  in  the  course  of  the  day  he  asked  me  to  pray 
with  him  and  for  him,  and  his  thoughts  appeared  to 
be  much  on  things  spiritual  and  heavcnl3^  He  con- 
versed much  upon  the  state  of  our  Church,  whose  con- 
tinued unity  began  to  be  threatened  by  the  growth  of 
our  fearful  national  troubles.  His  heart  was  deeply 
moved  upon  this  subject.  The  welfare  of  our  be- 
loved Zion  seemed  to  be  continually  upon  his  mind. 
He  expressed  his  views  in  strong  terms  in  regard  to 
the  responsibility  and  wickedness  of  those  who  were 
laboring  to  accomplish  the  disunion  cither  of  the 
Church  or  of  the  nation. 

"  While  conversing,  I  picked  up  a  daguerreotype  of 
his  daughter  Elizabeth.  '  Ah !  what  a  good  and  no- 
ble child  she  was !'  he  exclaimed.  '  No  one  can  tell 
what  bitter  pangs  it  cost  me  to  part  with  that  dear 
girl.  But  God  was  pleased  to  take  her  to  Himself, 
and  among  my  sweetest  hopes  and  anticipations  is  that 
of  meeting  her  in  the  heavenly  mansions.  You  have 
never  lost  a  child.' 

" '  No,'  I  replied,  '  I  have  been  mercifully  spared 
that  trial ;  but  I  have  been  called  to  endure  another, 
which  seemed  to  darken  this  whole  world.' 

" '  Ah !  yes,'  said  he,  '  I  know  to  what  you  allude. 
That  was,  indeed,  the  cutting  of  the  main  artery.  And 
yet,  in  every  bitter  cup  our  heavenly  Father  calls  on 
us  to  drink,  wc  may  find  a  precious  medicine ;  and, 
however  bitter  that  cup  may  be,  wc  can  always  look 
around  and  see  some  who  have  had  yet  more  bitter 
ones  put  to  their  lips;  and  we  can  always  see  how 
much  more  bitter  our  own  might  have  been  made  but 
for  God's  wondrous  mercy.' 


438       LETTEKS  FROil  THOSE  WHO   KNEW   HIM. 

Last  interview.  ilis  death. 

"  On  Monday  morning  he  was  still  no  better.  Dur- 
ing tire  night  he  had  suffered  occasioQal  spasms  of  in- 
tense pain,  yet  in  the  intervals  he  was  cheerful,  and 
no  one  felt  alarmed.  About  ten  o'clock  I  had  my  last 
interview  with  him.  He  spoke  again  of  the  state  of 
the  Church,  and  of  his  anxieties  in  regard  to  the  ap- 
proaching General  Assembly,  and  gave  me  some  mes- 
sasces  in  resrard  to  it  to  bear  to  the  ministers  at  Prince- 
ton.  He  did  not  know  whether  his  Presbytery  would 
see  fit  to  send  him  as  a  commissioner.  He  had  no  de- 
sire to  go ;  but  if  they  did,  he  would  feel  it  a  very  sol- 
emn duty  to  attend.  Little  did  any  of  us  who  stood 
around  his  bedside  think  he  was  so  soon — so  very 
soon — to  ascend  to  the  General  Assembly  and  Church 
of  the  First-born  on  high.  He  made  some  very  kindly 
reference  to  my  visit  and  the  pleasure  it  had  ^iven 
him ;  also  to  the  services  of  the  Sabbath,  and  hoped  I 
might  often  visit  Elizabethtown.  And  then  I  bade 
him  farewell,  no  one  of  us  supposing  him  to  be  seri- 
ously ill.  Within  twenty-four  hours  I  heard  in  Brook- 
lyn of  his  death;  and  the- next  time  I  saw  that  loved 
and  venerated  form  it  was  occupying  the  'narrow 
house,'  and  prepared  for  burial.  '  My  work  is  done !' 
he  exclaimed  when  dying.  '  Yes,  and  well  done,'  we 
may  all  say,  as  we  think  of  his  useful  and  unintermit- 
ting  labors.  Long  will  his  memory  be  dear  and  fra- 
grant to  all  who  knew  him,  and  most  so  to  those  who 
knew  him  best.  William  E.  Schenck. 


THE   END. 


T     " 


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